Born Into War: Jasper's Story
by Alchemyofanaccident
Summary: Major Jasper Whitlock...forged in war, born of death, and saved by love. This is his journey from the time of his change until he leaves the company of Peter and Charlotte to strike out on his own in an uncertain world. Dark themes, rated M for a reason.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Galveston, TX- Aug. 1863

After securing a fresh horse, he'd made his way back toward Galveston. For two years he had lived with his troops, sacrificing everything for the sake of the South, the cause for which they were all fighting. It seemed, however, that some of them were losing conviction to fight. The battle was turning in the favor of the North simply because they had better offenses, better weapons and superior tactics. He'd faced the look of defeat in most of his men even before the skirmishes began, their faces still haunting him long after the fighting had ceased. Now on this solitary trip to hunt for stragglers, he could recount and refresh his thoughts.

Still the violent images that had marred his mind for the past two years were always present. Gunfire, bombs and ambushes, always resulting in heavy casualties on their side. His best friends, his brothers falling before him had become almost routine. But it never got easier to see it. No, it never got easier to have to drag a boy of barely seventeen years of age out of the line of Union bombs, limbs missing, life fading drastically from blood loss and a shaky plea to get word to his family rasping from bloodstained and dirt encrusted lips. Even the quiet welcoming warmth of liquor never stayed the images for long. The long days march to the line of fire, foot sore from exhaustion, hot from the heat, hungry and completely parched for lack of water gave many a feeling of dread as if each campaign were a death march.

The gentle swaying of the horse's back almost lulled his state of mind into a trance. The complete absence of sleep had chased him for days, working to overtake his eyelids and force them to close. His grip remained tight on the reins, his only connection to reality. Oh, perchance to dream, to escape the living hell he'd endured for the past two years... But even then he wondered if he would ever really escape.

The sun was setting, casting off a surreal shade of twilight as it ducked behind the clouds and turned the sky an orange shade in preparation for nightfall. The sun's unrelenting heat had eased but the humidity was still clinging to the air.

Three figures appearing in the distance almost caused him to laugh in delirium. Was he going mad? He'd not seen a soul on this desolate road for hours. His vision, clouded by fatigue, didn't grasp the features of these three, only their faint outlines. He mustered what little strength he had left and clucked his horse up into a trot, drawing up the reins in a stately fashion. He'd not had a bath in days, his hair was a mess, his face marred with dirt and grime from days of scrimmage and his officer's coat was crusty with blood spatter from his own men. Stately? Hardly, but he cared little at the moment. He only did his best to keep up the confidence that had served him well over his time in the Confederacy.

Drawing closer to them, his vision gained focus and he realized these three figures were indeed women. Three stragglers, or so they appeared. He'd seen many faces during his time in the war yet he didn't recognize these three.

Maria could hardly believe her good fortune. A smile curved her lips as she stood in the middle of the dirt road, watching the lone soldier make his way toward them on horseback. So eager… They always were, she thought as she narrowed her eyes in appraisal.

"Such sweet blood…" Lucy purred.

A low hiss escaped Maria's lips as she took a step forward. "No," she declared. "This one belongs to me."

"Don't they all?" Nettie growled, the burn in her throat flaring to life as the young man approached.

"You're forgetting yourself," Maria snarled, her voice still a whisper too low for human ears. "We'll feed later. This one, I think, has potential…"

The night was approaching, casting a shadow of dusk across the sky as the stars peeked out across the expansive space. The moon, making its appearance for the night, gave an illuminating glow, almost inhuman, across these three women. They were flawless in appearance, two of them taller and silvery blonde with pale features. The third one was Mexican, smaller than the other two, with raven black hair and yet equally porcelain skin.

He slowed his horse upon approach fixing them each with a questioning look. "Can I help you, ladies?" he asked, letting his gaze flicker over each of them.

"Mmmm," Nettie sighed. "Lovely…and well-mannered." She took a step toward him, her eyes sparkling in the dim light.

Maria's arm shot forward, stopping Nettie in her tracks. She recognized the gleam in her eyes all too well and was intent on stopping the impetuous girl before she had a chance to ruin all of her fine plans. "Concentrate," she reminded her.

He assessed that, judging from the three of them, the smallest amongst them must have been the one in charge. His expression shifted into confusion at the sharpness of her words.

Nettie growled her frustration but relented and Maria let her go, gently pushing her back towards Lucy. "He looks right," she mused. "Young, strong, an officer…" She tapped one long, slender finger against her lips as she assessed him, her gaze traveling from the top of his cavalry hat to the soles of his boots. A feline smile quirked her lips. "And there's something more…do you sense it?" she asked her companions. "He's…compelling."

"Oh yes," Nettie agreed, leaning forward to inhale another deep breath of the young man's scent.

"Patience," Maria hissed. "I said we'd find food later. I want to keep this one."

Nettie scowled, her eyes shooting daggers at Maria's back.

"You'd better do it if he's important to you, Maria," Lucy whispered. "I kill them twice as often as I keep them."

Kill. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and stood on end at the very mention of the word. His heart began to race as he once again found himself looking over the three. He should have run but he couldn't bring himself to move. He'd been brought up to protect women not fear them and no matter how strange these three were they were still women and it was his job to ensure their safety.

"Yes," Maria agreed softly, her eyes drifting back up to the young man's face. "Yes, I'll do it. I really like this one." She spun on her heel, the wistful tone leaving her voice completely as she eyed the two of them. "Take Nettie away," she commanded, her eyes falling on Lucy. "I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus."

"Let's hunt," Nettie agreed, casting one last regretful look to the lone soldier. Lucy took her hand and the two of them sprinted toward Galveston, their white dresses blowing out behind them, their feet barely touching the ground as they disappeared into the distance.

Jasper's awestruck gaze followed the two blondes as they spirited off down the road. They were graceful, almost inhumanly so as their dresses billowed out behind them like the wings of angels.

Maria eyed the young man with intent curiosity, the way a cat would eye a mouse while contemplating whether or not to pounce. "What's your name, soldier?" she asked, her voice as smooth as velvet.

Jasper's concentration was broken by Maria's soft words. Before he knew what he was doing he found himself climbing down off of his horse and turning to face her, letting his gaze dance over her flawless features. "Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am." His voice rang with a nervous tenor as he eyed her warily. Was she going to kill him? No, he couldn't bring himself to believe that. After all women were meek and mild, fair creatures that were supposed to be protected.

Maria took a step toward him and then another until her body was almost pressed against his. She reached up a hand and trailed her fingertips down his dirty face, her eyes fever bright in the moonlight. "I truly hope you survive, Jasper," she murmured in a voice as soft as feathers. "I have a good feeling about you."

He wanted to run. Everything inside of him screamed to do so, to escape that deep primal feeling of fear that couldn't be identified but was instinctually there. His body was locked in place, unable to move, trapped and paralyzed as his heart kicked up an octave. Trembling rattled his frame as the coolness of her fingertips touched his cheek. His instincts again told him to flee but his gentlemanly nature continued to win out. This was a woman in need of help and he couldn't abandon her.

She inclined her head as though she meant to kiss him and for a moment she hung there almost as though she were frozen in time. Then, without warning, the hand that had caressed his face with such gentleness flashed around to tangle in his hair, wrenching his head to the side in one swift motion as her mouth descended on his throat.

His breath hitched in his throat as she inclined her head as if she wanted to kiss him. Was it something else she desired then? His heart pounded against his chest so loud that he couldn't hear his own scattered thoughts. He inched back but an inch was as far as he got before she snared him with her fingers and snapped his head to the side. He gasped as the sensation of razor blades and fire ripped through his neck.

The moment she released him he dropped to the ground in a heap. Pain seared through his veins, eating up every other feeling his body had ever possessed. He twisted on the ground, rolling onto his stomach as his fingers dug into the earth in search of some escape from this sudden hell. His throat contracted and burned heavier than anything else before the feeling spread through his arms, to his legs and concentrated in his chest.

Maria closed her eyes and tilted her head back, a smear of red staining her bloodless lips as she gasped against the hunger that threatened to consume her. One taste of him was nowhere near enough and it took every ounce of strength and self control in her possession to keep from falling upon him in that moment and draining him of the unspeakably sweet blood that flowed within him. She stopped breathing to temper her thirst and opened her eyes to watch as he began the transformation that would make him hers forever…or at least for as long as he proved useful, she thought with a wry smile. And he showed more promise than most…

"Major Jasper Whitlock," she mused. "Somehow I think you will be my greatest creation…"


	2. Transformation

Transformation

Around him there was nothing but silence…

Any screaming he wanted to do seemed to be smothered out by the flames consuming his throat which now occupied his hands, feet, legs and arms with relentless persistence. He wasn't sure how much time had passed but he wondered if perhaps he were burning in the fires of hell itself. Darkness was all he saw, blind and paralyzed as he was, until finally the pain began to fade from his hands and feet, moving slowly up his limbs to concentrate in the center of his chest. He found he could now flex his fingers, if not by much. Twitch was more like it as the fire in his chest flared with an intensity that caused his back to arch against it, the pain as undeniable as though a rod had been shoved through his spine.

His hands clenched into fists and his teeth locked together as his heart raced against the fire. The sound was loud now, pounding in his ears to point that it was deafening, racing against the flames that threatened to consume it. It faltered, sputtered, desperately moving to a pace quicker than should be humanly possible. Then there was silence once again as it galloped to its last beat and the fire overtook it.

Jasper sunk back to the ground and attempted to take in a breath. But something was wrong. His lungs were indifferent to the oxygen and instead they simply turned it back out as if were refusing it. With the inhaled air came a whirl of delicious scents as his ears picked up new sounds. Regulated breathing from others around him…

Six sets of eyes watched with hungry anticipation for the blond newborn to wake. She had made them a promise. Kill him and be rewarded. Fail and die. A simple task, they had all agreed. All that remained was to rip the new one limb from limb and then bask in the generosity of their creator.

He was confused and disoriented as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He had no idea where he was or even who the others were around him but he thought he faintly recognized a few. Their scents abounded around him, a new found sense that caused him to scrunch his nose in confusion. He eyed them warily, his eyes flashing across each and every face, all of whom were wild eyed and unseeing.

Jasper opened his eyes, confusion and fear tingeing them as they roved around the alien surroundings. His mind was foggy but computing things faster than he'd imagined possible as even the smallest speck of dust became easily seen.

"Now," one of the creatures snarled. All six of them rushed forward bent on destruction and violence.

A surprised hiss escaped Jasper's throat and before he could even register what he'd done, he found himself on his feet and leaping backward. He cut loose another warning hiss as his body adjusted to this new movement. Fear shot through him as they converged. He wasn't sure what to do but he was cornered and as the first newborn leapt for him, he reacted out of instinct and planted his boot squarely in his chest, shoving him backward into the others. Growling in an animalistic fashion, Jasper shifted into a crouch, his eyes darting wildly between his opponents as they all moved in.

Two of them caught him by the arms and yanked viciously, trying to rip him apart as a third one came towards him. Jasper swung his feet up and shoved the third creature away then shoved himself off of him and flipped backward, wrenching free of the two holding his arms. He wasted no time, catching one of them by the back of the head and ripping viciously until his head twisted off. He swung it around, using it to knock the other one away.

Jasper quickly focused his attention on the others as one rushed him and attempted to wrap his arms around him. He shifted out of his grasp, flashing to his side as he rushed in and landed a hard blow to the man's back. He caught him around the chin as his other hand caught around the back of his head, twisting viciously, until his head came free and his body hit the ground.

Angered and surprised snarls came from all around him and Jasper found himself hurling through the air, his body cracking into something as hard as concrete. He was sprawled out on the ground, disoriented as a mob of angry men moved in on him. He wondered if perhaps he should curl up and let them kill him. Surely he couldn't take them all. He'd been lucky with the two. Now he'd angered the rest, whatever they were. His survival instincts, however, wouldn't allow him to just lay there. They kicked in stronger than ever as the remaining four converged.

Before he could even think about it, his body was reacting as he suddenly blurred to his feet, legs apart and ready, eyes ever watchful on the others. It was fight or die and he was going to fight them all. Two of them rushed in and as Jasper moved to react to one, the other one managed to get a hold of his arm and sank his teeth into it. The searing pain burned through his skin, reminding him of the fiery torment he'd just experienced and somehow had lived through. Anger replaced the determination as his eyes burned red. He cocked back his fist and punched the newborn biting him square in the face, sending him reeling backwards as the others moved to replace him. Jasper pivoted and snarled as they converged.

One of the three coming for him leapt forward and caught Jasper around the neck, hauling him backward into the wall so hard there was a deafening crack. His teeth rattled as the monster tightened his grip. Jasper growled, one of his hands coming up to grasp the creature's face. He dug his fingers into his eyes, causing the monster to yell out in pain. Jasper wrapped his arm around his neck and brought up his knee, doubling him over and quickly twisting his head off just like the others.

There were three left. The desperation in their faces evident as they all closed in. Jasper leapt into the air, twisting lithely to land in a crouch behind them. He quickly charged up behind the one closest to him, his arms finding purchase around his neck as he viciously twisted and yanked off of his head. He growled in challenge to the other two and sprinted off in the other direction, being closely followed.

Running up the wall, Jasper hurled himself backward and landed on the shoulders of his closest attacker and quickly wrenched his head off before leaping backward and spinning on the last survivor. A hiss resounded from his throat and he was no longer scared, no longer afraid as the very last one charged.

Within moments it was over and the last one lay headless at his feet. He sucked in several sharp breaths as he surveyed the scene around him.

The sound of clapping echoed through the dimly lit room, growing louder as Maria stepped forward from the shadows. An amused smile graced her lips, her eyes focused not on the carnage littering the floor but instead on her newest acquisition.

Jasper spun with a wild hiss and crouched in preparation as she entered the room. His senses were still high and on alert from battle, ready to take on his next opponent. His eyes assessed her, gauging the level of threat as his basic instincts warred within him.

"Very well done, Jasper," she purred, advancing on him with slow and measured steps. "I knew you were special but truly you have exceeded all my expectations."

Warily, he backed away from her, eyeing the carnage around him in the small room. The fire in his throat hadn't faded along with the fire that had enveloped his body only a handful of moments before. In actuality, it raged stronger than ever as a hunger crept upon him that he couldn't understand. "W-who are you?" he stammered as he faltered to find his voice. "Where am I?"

Her eyes shone with kindness as she regarded him. "I am Maria," she replied. She turned her back to him ever so slightly in a gesture that could have been interpreted as either confidence or trust on her behalf as she moved about the room. She paused for a moment to nudge a severed arm out of her path before she resumed her pacing. "And you are just outside of Galveston. I'll be happy to answer all your questions in due time but at the moment I am more concerned for your comfort. After all, you must be thirsty."

"I don't understand..." His voice came out soft as a whisper. One of his hands fluttered to his throat as he attempted to rub away the fiery ache consuming him. His throat throbbed and constricted against the fire as it raged and left a raw, parched path. He felt thirsty, very thirsty, as if he could drink for days and never feel quenched. "What have you done to me?" he asked, his voice was alarmed and slightly angry.

"That horrible war…" Maria sighed, linking her arms behind her back. "So many young men have died. How many deaths have you witnessed under your command, Jasper?"

Jasper's eyebrows puckered as he tried to recount his past. The images were slightly fuzzy as if he were on the verge of forgetting them. "I don't...know," he replied quietly. "A lot," he admitted, sadness coloring his tone.

"Such a shame," she said, pity saturating her voice as she shook her head. "If only I could have helped them as I have helped you…"

The fire in Jasper's throat flared once more, threatening to consume him. "I don't understand," he choked out, flashing his hand up again to clutch his throat. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong, darling," she said, her words melodic and soothing. In a blur of movement she was by his side running her fingertips lovingly over his face. "I have given you immortality. You will never die like those other young men. You will never be blown apart by cannon fire or left to bleed to death on some God forsaken battlefield. You will live forever, safe from the cruelties of man. Safe here, with me."

He wanted to believe her words but he couldn't bring himself to fully trust her. Eyeing her warily as she reached out to trail her fingers down his cheek he tilted his face away from her. So far he'd been hit, kicked, scratched and bitten. Trust was not on the top of his list. If anything he treated her with the same suspicion as he treated the others. "Immortality?" he asked, narrowing his gaze. "What are you?" he accused, backing away from her. He once again reached up to smooth his hand down his throat in an attempt to try and quell the fire.

Maria blinked at him with wide-eyed innocence. "Jasper, don't be afraid." Hurt reflected in her words and her expression as she took one step toward him, her hand outstretched in entreaty. "I promise you that everything is going to be all right."

Jasper relaxed his stiff posture as she took a step toward him. There didn't seem to be any deception in her tone and he wondered if perhaps he was overreacting. He tentatively reached out with his hand to let her take it. Faint feelings absorbed into his fingertips, almost as if it were some kind of spark from the contact of her skin against his own. He suddenly pulled back his hand, a new look of alarm abounding in his eyes. "What was that?" he asked, looking over her. Emotions that were not his own continued to flick annoyingly against him. "What is that?" he asked, growing worried. He couldn't explain them, any of them. He didn't know what they meant or where they were coming from.

"What is what?" she asked, her eyes narrowing on his face. "What's happening? What are you feeling?"

"Everything..." Jasper whispered. "My skin…it's tingling. I don't understand what's happening..." He shook his head, half in disbelief. "I'm feeling triumphant and proud and I don't know why..." he began, only to fall quiet and level his gaze on her. "Wait..." he said softly. "Is it you?"

She hesitated for only the briefest of moments. "You can sense emotions," she whispered. "I knew there was something about you…"

"Emotions…" Jasper contemplated, softly. "What does that mean? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed, making no attempt to hide the joy in her eyes. "It just means that you are special and there's nothing wrong with that! You, my dear, are gifted."

"Gifted?" he asked, not quite sure what to think of it. He dropped his gaze to the singular puckered scar on his otherwise flawless arm and frowned.

"Yes, gifted," she replied. "Some of our kind possess certain gifts. Yours will become stronger as time goes on and then we'll be able to see how it manifests itself."

The raw ache in Jasper's throat was almost to the point of unbearable. He was desperate to quench it, needed the fire raging within to be put out. "Our kind?" he questioned, finding it difficult to speak against the unquenchable fire.

"You'll see soon enough," she promised, gracing him with a kind smile before she turned and walked away from him, hoping the distance would give her a moment to recover from the shock of having him read her emotions. Feeling confident that she had once again regained control over her expression she turned to face him. "I must confess that I do feel those things that you perceived, Jasper. I feel them because I was successful in saving you and seeing you alive and well before me fills me with joy and pride."

Jasper's eyebrows knitted in confusion as she moved away from him. Why was she walking away? He hesitated before taking a step after her and stopped as she turned to face him. With his gift brand new and in its infancy he couldn't feel anything off of her though he hadn't tried because he had no idea how it worked. "Saving me?" he asked, curiosity coloring his tone. "From what?"

"From the war, from death… Don't you remember? When I found you, you were half starved and exhausted. The war is escalating and the south is losing. Who knows how many more battles you might have survived before the one that would have seen you in pieces, scattered across some distant field…" She shook her head sadly, observing the body parts that now lay strewn across the floor. "And you, Jasper… I knew you were too special to meet such an end."

Jasper remained silent as his eyes moved across the scar that would mar his skin for the rest of his existence. The war was fuzzy but he did remember bits and pieces. Images of violence and conflict flickered through his mind causing his eyebrows to pucker in concentration as he attempted to force out more. "I remember some of it..." He sighed, giving up and lifting his gaze to hers. He was still quite leery about trusting her words but there didn't seem to be any other option other than to listen to her. "What were those things?" he asked, casting his gaze back toward the mangled bodies.

"Traitors," she replied, her voice heavy with regret. "They knew of my plans for you and jealousy caused them to act against you. I came here to fight for you, to save you from their scheming, so you can imagine my surprise when you didn't need me to defend you at all. Your military training has served you well." She turned to face him once again, a sadness haunting her eyes as she pressed her lips together in a bittersweet smile. "It's been so long since I have felt safe. But suddenly I find that I feel safe with you."

Waking up to six pairs of angry, blood driven eyes had been the first thing Jasper had experienced in this world he still knew very little about. Maria seemed to be holding quite a bit back and he wasn't sure why. She still hadn't told him what he was nor had she told him what those things were that he'd just fought. He wondered if perhaps she was holding these things back for a reason but being young and ignorant to the life he suddenly found himself cast into he knew no better. "I don't understand..." he began. He wasn't sure how many times those exact words had escaped his mouth since awakening but it seemed that was the only thing that he could get out. Despite his suspicions he suddenly felt needed. Her words touched him, causing him to wonder if perhaps she wasn't like the others. "I'm sorry if I've been rude, ma'am..." Jasper replied, giving in to her wiles. "I will ensure your safety," he promised.

She smiled, her eyes lighting up with happiness mixed with an underlying glitter of satisfaction. "I shall be forever grateful. There is much to discuss but first..." She assessed him with avid interest, careful to keep her distance and not make physical contact with him. "Your throat is burning," she stated matter-of-factly, her eyes sparkling with empathy. "It happens to us all. I'm going to make the burning go away, Jasper. I don't like to think of you in pain."

Jasper nodded weakly, unable to force out words to describe the spark of hunger flaring within him strong enough to rival the fire in his throat. His only hope was that she really held the answers she promised. His hand once again found purchase against his throat trying with futility to smooth away the raw ache that burned so mercilessly. "Please…" was all he could say, hoping that she could indeed do that.

She turned her eyes to the night sky, just visible through the gaps in the boards that formed the roof above them. "Do you trust me?"

But did he trust her? He wanted to but there was something about her that seemed off. What it was exactly, he didn't know but he felt as if he had no other choice but to agree and that was exactly what he did. "Yes," he said in a voice as soft as a summer breeze.

"Follow me," she instructed, gracing him with a dazzling smile as she took off in a sprint out into the night.

The raw ache in Jasper's throat flared with fire, once again, as it begged to be quenched. He ghosted out after her, moving with an agility and speed that he'd never imagined before. The wind whipped around him and the exhilarating feeling of freedom replaced any feelings of dread or suspicion he had.

She ran with indescribable grace, her every movement captivating as she glided across the ground. The full moon was bright above them and her skin shimmered in its glow as her voice floated back to him on the wind. "Trust your instincts, Jasper…" she whispered. "What is it you desire?"

Tiny fragments of reflective light danced off of his skin as it shimmered under the moon's glow which under normal circumstances would've caused him to stop and ask questions but the fire in his throat was the only thing on his mind right now and he wanted to get that taken care of first. "Well... I'm thirsty. Very thirsty..." he replied, his voice coming out cracked and dry.

Maria smiled as though she were in on some private joke known only to her. "And what are you thirsty _for_? Think about it, Jasper. You keep asking me what I am, what you have become, what those men were that you killed... The answer lies there in your thirst."

The breeze shifted directions, bringing with it a trace of delicious scents. Scents so delicious in fact that he could feel his mouth water in anticipation of the relief they promised. He halted in his tracks and tentatively sniffed the air, drawing in the tempting aromas with each hungry breath. "What's that smell?" he asked, clearly intrigued. He didn't wait for an answer from Maria because in the next moment he was sprinting off in the direction of the scent.

Maria followed after him, eager to see how her newest creation would adapt to hunting. Would he show horror and revulsion and fight his instincts or would he attack without hesitation? She silently hoped it would be the latter.

Jasper's hunger flared with each breath almost to the point of desperation as he continued on his course. He didn't bother to slow his pace until he drew close enough to hear the thudding of moist, wet hearts. His steps faltered and altogether halted as his crimson red eyes pierced the darkness, trying to pinpoint the exact location.

He drew in another breath of the entwined scents and followed them until a small house nestled in trees came into view. His lips pulled back into a wicked grin and he slipped into a crouch, moving through the shadows as silent as death.

Jasper approached the house and assessed those inside. Their heartbeats were slow and steady, indicating that they were sleeping. His throat flared mercilessly, eager to be quenched and feel the sweet relief the twin scents promised with their siren song of temptation.

His gaze shifted up the second window which was opened up to the night air. Perfect, he thought, casting a quick glance back to Maria before scaling up the side of the house and slipping in through the open window. The couple was sleeping, completely unaware of the danger lurking within feet of them.

Once he was inside Maria's expression transformed into one of pure, maniacal glee. He wasn't even questioning himself, just giving in to his instincts the way a soldier followed orders on the battlefield. She had sensed he would not be a disappointment and she had been correct in every way thus far. Interested to see to what lengths he would please her she waited in the silence with rapt anticipation.

Screams erupted from inside the house as Jasper flung himself on top of his first victim and quickly sunk his teeth into her jugular. His teeth ripped through the soft skin like razor blades as the warm, sweet liquid poured into his mouth. Sucking greedily, he found that it did indeed quench the fire.

"El Diablo! El Diablo!" the husband screamed and leapt out of bed, shakily grabbing a cross and aiming it at Jasper. "El Diablo!" he yelled in accusation.

Jasper pulled up with a wild gasp from the woman, blood smearing his lips and face and turned his gleaming red eyes on the man. He blurred up from the bed and, in less time than it took a human to blink, was leaping across the space between them. He knocked the cross from the man's hands and caught him around the neck. Without another thought Jasper pulled the man to him and sunk his teeth into his neck, kneading them into the flesh until the blood flooded his mouth in another wave of sweet relief.

"Very well done," Maria said, reclining against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. She had entered the room without a sound, watching with pride as Jasper had taken to the killing of humans with ease. Not all of her creations did so. Some, in fact, outright refused and it was with annoyance and anger that she destroyed them.

Jasper broke away from the man's neck with a wild gasp, letting the body slip through his fingers and fall to the floor with a sickening thud. Suddenly things dawned on him as he assessed the carnage around him. His victims looked as if they belonged at a crime scene, murdered in their beds.

Horror set in as he shifted his gaze to Maria. "What have I done?" he choked, moving over to the bed and brushing back a lock of the woman's bloody hair. "What have you done to me?" he accused, with a hiss, turning a glare on Maria. "Why?"

Maria actually had the nerve to look surprised at his sudden outburst. "You're a vampire," she stated simply, blinking up at him.

Vampire? Vampires didn't exist, at least that had been the impression he'd lived under. They were culture created myths to explain anomalies but maybe he'd been wrong. The evidence around him seemed to suggest that. He pursed his lips and reigned in his anger, trying to wrap his mind around the information.

She walked over to the woman's corpse, casting her gaze down at the fragile human body and being careful not to step in the gore that marred the wooden floor. "Not the cleanest kill I've witnessed but you'll get better with time. I, myself, hardly spill a drop." She lifted her head to smile at him and gave a dainty shrug of her shoulders. "Waste not, want not."

He moved away from her as if he couldn't stand to be near her and walked back to the window. Popping his head out, he drew in several breaths to try and cleanse the polluted air around him thick with the scent of blood. Her words of poison caused him to clench his teeth in response as he pulled his head back inside and once again surveyed the carnage, sickened. "You've made me the devil…" he hissed in contempt.

"The devil?" she asked, incredulous. "You were a soldier. Do you honestly mean to tell me that you did not kill humans in your other life? And for what? Because you were told to by men who cared nothing for you! This," she said, gesturing to the two corpses, "is at least for food, for sustenance. Not slaughtering people to leave them to rot out in the hot sun under swarms of flies."

She had a point but he couldn't come to rationalize it. "Yes, I killed men," he admitted, softly. He said nothing further of it because, in all honesty, he couldn't come to terms as to why anymore. The war was clearly moving in the north's favor and many, himself included, had lost the conviction to fight. "This is different," he hissed, shaking his head to shake the images free of his mind.

"Don't think about it, Jasper," she cooed. "Tell me, how do you _feel_? Your thirst…it's better, is it not?"

Her words were oddly soothing yet he was revolted by them at the same time. "Yes…" he choked. It was quenched but it had come at a price…human life.

"Do you want more?" she asked, coming to stand as close to him as she could without touching him. "This is my land and you can feed again if you want."

The very mention of the possibility sent his throat into a flare, once again becoming unsatisfied. He craved it and he couldn't deny that fact. He nodded mutely, with a slight grimace. "Yes." His voice was soft, conflicted as he lifted his gaze to hers.

Pleased, the smile returned to her face and she lifted her hands to his shoulders, running her fingertips lightly down his arms with a skill hard won in her previous life. "I can give you everything you could ever want, Jasper," she whispered in his ear. "There is no life out there for a single vampire alone. It would mean starvation. Just as I have claimed my territory, so have other covens claimed theirs. The entire world has been divided up in that way and to hunt on another coven's land means death." She turned him to face her, her eyes intently staring into his with a hypnotic power. "You're safe here with me but only with me. Others would fear your gift and would wish to destroy you because of it like the traitors you killed. They wouldn't understand you the way I do. I created you to be special. I created you for me."

"But, I've not done anything to do them..." Jasper began softly, finding Maria's hypnotic words left him with a feeling of desiring more. His suspicions had all but completely faded, as her poison layered words worked their way into the fog of his mind. Suddenly he found himself wanting to believe her. The way she placed her hands on his shoulders and traced her fingers down his arms was almost bordering on possession, an ownership that he felt helpless to turn away from despite the fact that it repulsed him.

"They won't care about that, Jasper. The thirst you feel that drove you to kill those people...that same thirst drives them. And thirst, as you will find, can make our kind incredibly violent. It's a volatile world in which we live. This is why it is important to establish territory and to defend it with everything you have. Claiming territory is the only way to ensure survival."

Jasper's curiosity grew as he listened to Maria's convincing speech. Her words were full of conviction and he found himself believing her despite the suspicions he'd held earlier. How could he not? Surely she must know what she was talking about because he was far too new to know that there was anything outside of this world besides conflict.

She moved away from him to sit on the bed, paying no attention to the bodies of the freshly slain couple. "Currently my coven stands at eight. Nettie and Lucy, who you may remember, and six defenders. But we are easily challenged by larger, more organized covens, covens that possess armies. If we could only find a way to better defend our land..."

He turned away from her and moved over to the window, watching the moon in the sky as if it could give him the answers his mind suddenly craved. The wheels in his head started to turn as he attempted to come up with a viable plan. If her coven were in fact in danger then they needed to come up with a plan that would rival their enemy's. Something they would never expect.

She sighed, rising from the bed to approach him. "But right now I can't think of such things. I should see to you, my darling. You must be in such pain and that is my concern above all else." She reached down and took his hand in her own, her eyes sweeping his face and hiding nothing.

His thought process was cut off, however, when she once again joined him. His hunger flared once again dissatisfied and craving more than the two meals he'd just taken. "Yes." His voice cracked against the raw ache in his throat as he turned toward her. Crumpling his eyebrows as she took his hand, a faint flicker of concern came off of her. He assumed it was concern for him, not the fact that armies were moving in on her.

"First though, there is another lesson you must learn." She bunched her skirt in one hand, pulling it up to reveal a tantalizing length of thigh. Strapped to her leg was a knife which she drew, holding it up in the moonlight. "Always remove evidence," she said, reaching down to grab the dead man by the hair. In one swift movement she sliced his throat. "Hides the bite mark," she explained, tossing the knife to him.

Jasper's hand flashed up and curled around the handle of the knife. Twisting it to reflect off of the moonlight he examined the stain of blood on the blade. Gore and violence had been a sight hardwired into his mind during his human years in the war so seeing Maria slice the dead man's throat to hide the wound didn't bother him as it probably would someone untainted by such sights. Flickers of violent images coursed through his mind as he turned to copy Maria's example. Visions of the bloated bodies of his comrades and union soldiers lying ripe and rotting in the heat of the midday sun, wrought with flies and maggots plagued his mind as he moved over to the bed and turned the dead woman over. The terror frozen on her face was evident by her wide staring eyes and open mouth fixed in a silent scream. This was no comparison to the horrors he'd already faced and it was with ease that he pierced the flesh of her neck and slid the knife across her throat, successfully hiding the bite wound.

"Excellent," she said in praise, holding her hand out for him to return the knife. "You are taking to everything so well. I am very pleased to see it."

Somehow he felt pleased that she approved. The hint of a smile curved his lips as he placed the knife in her outstretched hand. "What's next?" he asked, hoping she would make good on her promise to quench the fire burning in his throat.

"Next we get you more to drink," she said, running across the floor and taking a flying leap out of the window, disappearing into the night.

A hint of a smile curved his lips, as he took flight after her and leapt from the window.

She looked behind her, pleased to find him following. Easily led like most, she thought, a smug smile forming as she returned her attention forward. All that remained to be seen was if he would survive his introduction to the others. However, given the way he had killed the six vampires she had set against him in her little test, she was more concerned that he might instead be the sole survivor and leave her to start again in turning more.

"Jasper, I mentioned the others..." She turned to look at him as she continued to sprint across the ground with superhuman speed. "They are the makings of an army to defend us against the other covens. I take it this is not a foreign concept to you, given your background."

Jasper kept stride rather easily, moving along next to her as they ran. "No," he rasped against the growing burn in his throat. War was not a foreign concept, having lived it for a good part of two years.

"If we could build an army, one of impressive skill, then maybe we could successfully defend ourselves against attack. Perhaps we could even expand our territory." She cast him a pitying glance. "As it stands now, you can only feed once more tonight without our presence being noticed. Your thirst can not be entirely quenched, nor can any of ours. In fact, I am forgoing my own meal tonight on your behalf. But Jasper, if we could take more land from our enemies we could feed without fear or restriction. If we had an army, a worthy one, no one could challenge us."

"They would need discipline and structure…" he explained, puckering his eyebrows in thought. "As they stand they're wild and unruly, no training..." He could feel the wheels in his head turning as he caught her side long glance. "If we could instill control and train them properly, then we could create an army that would make even the strongest coven hide..." he mused, quirking a smile.

Maria affected a look of innocence. "Do you honestly think so?" she asked, working hopefulness into her tone. "How would we go about such a thing?"

"I do." He nodded once in agreement. "Training, preparation…lots of it," he explained, running a straight course until the alluring scent of a human blew in on the breeze. He came to a sudden halt and drew in a whiff of the cinnamon laden air, unable to stop the venom pooling in his mouth.

Maria stopped running and came to stand by his side. She took a deep breath as well, pulling the scent into her dead lungs. "It's all yours, my darling," she purred, her lips curving into a wicked smile.

A wicked grin curled his lips and a quiet chuckle escaped as he turned and darted off in the direction of the scent. His bright crimson eyes sparked with a wild hunger that reflected the excruciating burn in his throat.

Maria watched him go for a moment, feeling very satisfied with her latest acquisition. Strong and possessing a military mindset, he was exactly the sort of newborn she had been seeking. Almost equally important he was thirsty and had taken to the hunting of humans with very little in the way of revulsion. She could easily see him becoming her favorite.

Once he'd caught the human scent Jasper's mind had switched over from searching to hunting, closing out everything else around him and locking onto the delicious scent swirling in his nostrils. His throat throbbed and constricted in anticipation of the warm blood that would quench it.

The faint sound of a heartbeat reached his ears causing a smile to curve his lips. He amped up his pace unable to stand the anticipation, as the scent strengthened. Then the outline of a house came into view, along with the faint scents of human food and fresh meat hanging in the smoke house, ready to be cured.

Maria took off after him, easily following his scent across the terrain.

He stopped just outside the house and cast a glance back in Maria's direction, before moving over to a slightly ajar window. He pried it open, rather easily and slipped inside.

Maria leaned back against a tree and waited for the scream that would cut off into a blood choked gurgle. Truthfully it had become her favorite sound.

She had made a habit of controlling her newborns thus far by seducing them with promises of blood and other more carnal pleasures. Her past life had given her a thorough education in the art of manipulating men and all of her newborns believed themselves in love with her. She found none of them to be desirable but with Jasper... There was something about him in particular that she found intriguing.

The house was dark and completely quiet except for the thudding heart ringing in his ears. His gaze shifted to the left to a doorway leading from the small sitting area he was currently standing in surrounded by chairs and a fire place which gave off the faint smell of smoke from a recent burning. His footsteps were silent as he slid through the shadows, his new eyes seeing everything in a brighter nocturnal tone as he navigated through the door way, pausing briefly next to the opening that was clearly a bedroom.

His lips pulled back into a smile as he assessed the sleeping human male. His throat flared in anticipation, excited to feel the warm blood this man promised. Jasper purposefully rapped his hand on the top of the dresser, watching as the man woke up with a start and bolted upright, his gaze helplessly searching the darkness. "Hello?" he called out, nervously.

Jasper moved into the line of moonlight in front of the window, his eyes gleaming with joy.

"Who are you? W-what do you want?" he stammered, his heart hammering against his chest.

"You'll see..." Jasper drawled and suddenly flung himself at the man, cutting off his sharp scream of terror in a strangled gurgle as his teeth tore into his throat and released the blood flow.

Maria had heard the whole exchange between Jasper and his victim and couldn't suppress a wild peal of laughter. Never had she seen a newborn take to killing with such mastery and sadistic enjoyment. Yes, Jasper was special. She had been right to sense it about him before his change. He wasn't a simple pawn. No, he had the potential to be an equal.

Her eyes darkened momentarily. He also had the potential to overthrow her in time. She would have to be very careful with him. It would be imperative to gain control over him and quickly. Pursing her lips she undid a few of the laces on her bodice and strolled towards the house.

Leaping into the window Jasper had entered she made her way to the bedroom to find him finishing his meal. Saying nothing she leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms across her chest, fixing him with a devilish smile.

The sweet warmth of the blood flooded his mouth and coursed down his throat, eradicating the flames. Maria's scent mingled with the scent of the fresh blood causing Jasper to snap his head up with the last drop gone and peel back his lips to expose blood stained to teeth, exuding a wild hiss. His gaze snapped in her direction and he blurred himself up off the bed, cocking his head to the side as if trying to recognize her.

Maria's lips curled back and she growled at him playfully in return. "I don't want your human," she purred.

She crossed the room and grabbed the corpse by the neck, tossing the body aside where it crumpled to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Jasper took a step back and assessed her, as she moved toward him, strings pulled loose around her bodice. Her scent was enticing and erotic, calling to him in ways he never thought possible. His eyes followed her movement, as she slung the body to the floor.

She narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized Jasper's face, running her fingertips down the front of his officer's jacket. Without another word she brought her other hand up to grab the back of his neck, her long fingernails lightly running over the skin at his throat before she leaned in and kissed him. Her tongue darted out to catch the blood from his lips.

He growled in response to the way her finger tips moved down his jacket and a wild rush of desire flared within him, something that had nothing to do with human blood. He closed his eyes to the emotion, trying to blot it out because, at the same time he felt repulsed. A low moan escaped his throat as she slid her fingernails up his neck and left behind a trail of want and need.

She slid her tongue across his lips and under his fuller bottom one, causing him to gasp. The way she claimed them brimmed with possession as her fingers tightened around the back of his neck, causing his stomach to twist in revulsion but he couldn't bring himself to pull away from her as he leaned into the kiss and began to work his lips against hers.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall, hitching her leg up against his hip in the next instant and pressing herself against him in a suggestive manner. She snarled against his lips as she reached between them, opening her eyes to revel in the surprise on his face when she closed her hand around him.

Jasper's back hit the wall with the sound of a thunder clap and in the same second Maria was pressed against him, with one leg hitched around his hip. He was intrigued, yet what was still human in him was repulsed by her. His mind continued to war with the emotions inside of him as she reached between them and did something that caused his eyes to go wide with alarm and a wild surprised gasp escape his lips. The revulsion that had been warring with the desire inside of him won over and he tore his lips away from hers and pushed her away. "No," he warned, fixing her with a glare.

Maria's eyes flashed anger for less than a second but in that second she was terrifying. Catching herself they instead softened to amusement as she assessed him with a predatory thoroughness. "No?" she asked, disbelievingly. With a dark chuckle she curved her fingers under his chin, tilting his head down to her so that she could level her eyes with his. "We'll see about that."

She released him and walked over to the dead man, hiking her skirt up once again to expose the knife strapped to her thigh. She removed it from its sheath and threw it with a hint of barely contained violence into the floor, the blade biting into the boards. She cast him a look over her shoulder, her eyes skewering him with their intensity. "Take care of that," she snapped before turning on her heel and exiting the room.

He watched as she slung the knife into the floor and snapped at him before disappearing. With her gone, he turned to the blade and pulled it from the boards. Moving over to the dead body, Jasper flipped him over and sunk the knife into his throat, sliding it through the flesh to cover the wound. Feeling satisfied with his work, he pocketed the blade and leapt from the window.

Maria stood with her back turned to him, her arms folded across her chest. She did not move nor breathe as he exited the house, waiting with perfect stillness as she stared off into the distance with an eerie calm.

Jasper sprinted across the yard to find Maria standing in waiting. His steps faltered and he stopped several feet behind her. Flashes of anger and deadly calm flicked his skin, causing him to wince.

"I think it's time I take you to the others. I doubt you will find them as congenial as myself so I would watch my back if I were you," she said darkly. Without another word she flew forward with a sudden burst of speed, not once turning to see if he followed.

Her sharp words should've cut him but he found that he could easily deflect them. "I'm not worried," he replied in a voice colored in confidence and slightly cold. His gaze held little emotion as she sprinted off in a sudden burst of speed. He followed, without a second glance back to the house.

His self assurance was beginning to annoy her and he was only a few hours old. She had hoped to reel him in with her usual tactics but he seemed to be a little too strong willed for them. Fine, she thought. If he insisted she would break him down with harsher, more cruel methods. But either way, she would have him and his loyalty or she would find a way to destroy him in the process.


	3. Revelations

Revelations

As they approached the barn, Maria saw Nettie and Lucy standing outside the nearby house, both of them raking their eyes over Jasper with obvious approval.

Jasper stole a quick glance to the two females standing by the house staring him down, a flicker of recognition dawning on him that these were the two that had accompanied Maria when he'd been turned. Nettie and Lucy… The way they eyed him made him feel slightly uncomfortable, as if he were some kind of prize to be won.

"Did rather well for yourself this time," Lucy purred, her voice a husky whisper as her gaze lingered far south of Jasper's face.

Jasper cast a glance in Lucy's direction and shifted his feet uncomfortably as she looked him over and eyed him further down than he would've liked.

"I'm glad I didn't kill him now," Nettie agreed.

Maria snarled, causing both of them to jump backward in fear. "Keep your claws to yourselves, ladies! He doesn't belong to you. He belongs to me."

_Belong?_Jasper's gaze snapped to Maria as she reacted possessively toward him.

Maria turned and marched into the barn, throwing both the doors open with a violent hit of her hands. Lucy and Nettie straightened as she disappeared inside.

"Don't they all?" Lucy chuckled, her lips turned up in a feline smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You'd better follow along after her like a good little puppy," Nettie warned, tapping him on the nose with one slim finger. "She's not someone you want to disobey. Lucy and I would know." She tilted her head to the side, revealing a fine white scar that encircled her throat. He wouldn't know what it meant, she realized, but if he weren't careful, he would soon find out.

Jasper's eyebrows pulled together as she tilted her head to reveal a single white line encircled her neck. It was an odd scar, something he'd not seen before and he wondered what it could've came from as his eyes traveled to the crescent shaped scar on his arm. He just simply nodded to her warning and gave them one quick parting glance before following Maria into the barn.

Maria surveyed the six large newborn males as she entered. They were a wild mass of untamed violence and power, their hungry red eyes glowing in the dim light as the two largest engaged in a battle for dominance. She couldn't afford to have their numbers dwindle any lower, especially by losing one or both of her strongest newborns. Lunging forward she unleashed a roar of pure fury that caused all six of them to cower before her, despite the fact that they were easily three times her size.

Jasper slipped in behind Maria as he surveyed the six large vampires surrounding them. Just a few hours ago the same type of haunting eyes had met him when he awoke…hungry, violent and bent on destroying him and now he felt himself feeling slightly uncomfortable as he shyly drew behind Maria. It wasn't that he feared them but those eyes had left a mark from the last time and it bothered him to see them fixed on him now.

His gaze flashed to the two in the front as a fight broke out between them. He watched them warily, not wanting to intermix in the violence but determined to defend himself if need be. However Maria was quick to end the scuffle with her domineering presence.

"Enough!" she screeched, her eyes on fire as she swept her gaze over them. "How are we to fight for herd lands when we can't even stop fighting amongst ourselves!"

One of the males who had been locked in battle slinked over to her side, kneeling before her and bowing his head in submission. She curled her fingers under his chin and tilted his face up to her, favoring him with a seductive smile. His eyes glowed with an adoration that bordered on obsession.

Jasper's face, a study in curiosity, trained on Maria in observance. The way she curled her fingers under the vampire's chin sent a chill down Jasper's spine. He suddenly realized that this had been the same way she'd treated him earlier, before he'd declined her.

"And what is this?" she asked, her voice layered with concern as she lifted his hand to reveal the bite mark marring the smooth alabaster of his skin. Leaning down she ran her tongue over it, the venom sealing the cut shut and leaving in its place a fine white scar. The newborn shivered in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

Jasper's gaze shifted to his own bite mark, the one that marred his otherwise flawless, ivory skinned arm. If they were in fact immortal then how could they possibly be scarred? He remembered the searing pain that had come with it and something dawned on him. Perhaps there was something in the saliva that caused such a reaction.

Maria smiled once more at the newborn at her feet before sweeping aside to stand next him, the fingers of one hand shifting absently through his hair. He leaned into her hand like a faithful dog.

"This, my darlings, is Jasper, the newest addition to our little _family_," she announced, casting a look toward him that underscored the fact that he was wildly outnumbered should he choose to stand apart. Six sets of jealous eyes turned in his direction as they assessed the competition for Maria's affections.

Jasper remained silent, eyeing them warily as they all turned as one to face him. His expression remained unreadable as he mentally assessed their level of threat. They were larger and seemed to be more volatile than the others which caused him to draw back a step.

"Jasper, as you can tell by his attire, was a soldier in the Confederacy up until recently...not unlike some of you." She patted the head of the newborn at her feet with a fondness before leaving him to pace the room, the tone of her voice taking on a harsher tone. "However, unlike you, he seems to possess a self control that I find has been lacking as of late. Therefore, I am appointing Jasper here in command. He will train you to fight in a military fashion so that we may challenge our neighboring covens, defend what land we have and take more."

The sudden cast into the spotlight caused a wave of anxiety to flow through him which could've been partly because of the shift in their eyes from jealousy to hatred. Growls of contempt flowed throughout the newborns around him, separated only by Maria who stood as a barrier between him and them. They looked as if they suddenly wanted to rip him apart, now more than ever.

She strolled over to Jasper, her expression smug as she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I leave you to it then. Try not to get yourself killed. These are far more dangerous than the six you took on earlier and if you are unwilling to accept my _protection_ then there is nothing I can do for you should you fail."

She laughed and cupped his face for a moment, letting her fingertips trail down his cheek as she walked away and left him alone with the deadliest of her creations. She doubted they would be able to kill him but she fervently hoped they would at least maim him, possibly even rip off a limb or two. He needed to be put in his place sooner rather than later. She'd never met a newborn more willful.

With her gone, the violence hanging in the room threatened to explode. The largest of the newborns, the one that had been kneeling before Maria, stood and glowered at Jasper with unmistakable malice. The five others came to stand behind him, each one mirroring his expression.

Jasper took a step back as the six of them conformed together in a 'v' in front of him. He would be blatantly ignorant if he did not express some level of fear but he didn't show his weakness. No, showing weakness was sure to get him killed. Still he wondered if perhaps this would be the last thing he would ever see. If so, he'd go down fighting if that was how it had to be. Jasper began to shift into a defensive crouch in response, casting his eyes over their faces in calculation.

"I'm not about to take orders from you," the large male sneered, lunging at Jasper and gripping him by the shoulders. His teeth sunk into his throat with a vicious snarl.

Jasper's distraction was his downfall because the largest male, who appeared to be their leader, lunged and caught him by the shoulders. The iron grip of his hands was not what caused Jasper's teeth to clench. It was the searing pain in his neck when the vampire's teeth cut in like razor blades. Jasper cut loose a wild hiss mixed with pain and anger as he drew up his knee and sharply cut it into his abdomen.

The newborn cried out as his opponents knee crashed into his stomach with enough force to cause his teeth to rattle. He let go and fell to the ground but quickly recovered, flashing to his feet. Another newborn male sailed over his head before he could renew his attack, tackling Jasper to the ground, his teeth snapping only inches from Jasper's face as he grabbed hold of one of his arms and yanked, a sickening crack filling the air as he attempted to rip the limb free of its socket. Another one of the newborns had Jasper's foot in the same second and prepared to wrench his leg from his body.

Jasper's back hit the ground with a resounding crack followed by another sickening crack as the newborn that had just tackled him attempted to yank his arm off. He gritted his teeth against the sharp pain, the sharp metallic sound of the newborn's teeth snapping just inches from his face. The sudden jerk on his leg alerted him to the second newborn attempting to remove it in his steely grip. Jasper growled in determination as the severity of the situation dawned on him. He struggled to free his leg, pulling against the newborn holding it. Drawing up his free one he snapped it forward, planting a kick in the newborn's face with enough force to knock him away. His free hand flashed up and balled into a fist as he crashed it into the side of the newborn's face who had him pinned.

As those two newborns flew backwards, the other three quickly closed in to replace them. One raised his leg to stomp Jasper's face, his foot coming down to hit nothing but dirt as the large male that had first attacked Jasper reached down and hoisted him up by the neck.

Jasper suddenly found himself being drug bodily off the ground and held securely by the neck with a firm hand. His mind raced, trying to figure out a way to free himself from this vampire's hold as his hand flashed up and locked around his wrist.

The newborn's fingers contracted around Jasper's throat as he brought him face to face with him, so close their noses were almost touching. "I'm in charge here and that's the way it's going to stay," he growled. Reaching up he fisted his hand in Jasper's hair and yanked his head to the side in preparation of decapitating him.

Jasper felt his neck crack as the vampire's hand fisted a wad of his hair and snapped his head viciously to the side. He squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the beheading that would follow, his hand uselessly tightening against the girth of the newborn's wrist.

"Isaac!"

The voice cut through every other noise and immediately brought all of them to attention. The vampire in question released his hold from Jasper's neck and dropped him to the ground in a heap.

Jasper hit the ground in a limp heap and lay there, unsure if he should move or not. His breaths came in sharp pants as he mentally took note of the newborns around him. Maria's interference stopped the attack and seemed to quell the sudden uprising against him.

Maria entered the barn, her eyes flashing a strange combination of anger and satisfaction. "That's enough for one night," she chided, running her hands possessively over the chest of the vampire she had addressed as Isaac.

She cast her gaze down to where Jasper lay and nudged him with her foot, rolling him over to his back and looking down at him briefly before returning her attention to Isaac.

Jasper rolled with the push of Maria's foot rather limply onto his back. The look of disapproval was clearly written across her face as she assessed him.

"It appears I was mistaken in my judgment of him. He is now under your command to do with as you see fit," she said, tilting her head back to place a kiss along the scars that marred his jaw. "But right now, I have other uses for you…" she cooed, caressing his face with her hand. She turned to leave and he eagerly followed. At the door she paused and looked over her shoulder. "David," she commanded.

One of the other newborn males quickly ran after her and Isaac as they exited the barn and disappeared in the direction of the house leaving Jasper alone with the remaining four.

Jasper pulled himself up into a sitting position as Maria took her leave with the other two. His gaze swept across the remaining faces and judged the level of threat of them. Would they attack him? Would he once again have to fight for his life now that Maria was gone? Would he die?

"What should we do with him?" a dark haired newborn asked, flexing his hands with an obvious desire for violence.

The other three were far too busy staring after Isaac and David as they left with Maria to pay Jasper much attention. Finally one of them, a young man wearing the tattered remnants of a Confederate uniform much like Jasper's, answered.

"Isaac didn't say," he replied through clenched teeth. "We wait for his orders."

Jasper's gaze shifted to the boy in the confederate uniform. His eyebrows creased together as his gaze swept across him. He thought he vaguely recognized him as someone from his unit but he couldn't place him. Finding the strength to pull himself to his feet he remained on the defensive, casting wild paranoid glances at each one. He couldn't trust them, even being his own kind they were not like him. They were of one blank mind, thoughtless and completely volatile. He backed away from them a few paces, remaining wary.

Lucy and Nettie were suddenly at Jasper's side as though they had both materialized out of thin air. Nettie eyed the bite healing on Jasper's neck, reaching up a finger to trace across the puckered skin.

"Looks like Isaac gave you a scar to match the one Maria placed on the other side," she giggled.

Jasper's gaze shifted to the two females as they appeared out of nowhere and came to his side. They didn't seem to be a threat, so he relaxed his posture a little but still remained wary as Nettie's finger traced along the healing wound.

"Whatever did you do to make her so angry?" Lucy asked, smoothing a tender hand through his hair.

"I refused her..." he mumbled timidly. He didn't fight her as she smoothed a hand through his hair. Somehow it felt comforting, a feeling he'd all but forgotten since being thrown into this violent world.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Lucy asked incredulously.

He shook his head quickly in response. "No…" he murmured. No, he wasn't trying to get himself killed but he thought he should at least have a choice in a matter that included him with such intimacy.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet, she owns you. She owns us all." Lucy held up her other arm to show him the crescent shaped scar on her wrist.

Nettie leaned forward to show him the one marring her throat.

His gaze cast across the scar on her wrist and the one on Nettie's throat, both of which resembled the three he now possessed. The human part of him, who he had been, rebelled against this idea. "No, she doesn't." His eyes drew back up to theirs then swept across the others. "She doesn't own any of us!" he voiced with confidence.

"Ssssshhh!" Lucy whispered harshly as she clapped her hands over Jasper's mouth. "Have a death wish if you want but don't bring her down on all our heads!"

"Careful, Jasper," Nettie warned. "This is a dangerous game you are playing…"

"Do you see this?" Lucy asked, pointing to the thin white scar on Nettie's neck just below the bite mark. "This is the result of Maria ripping off Nettie's head. Thankfully I was around to put it back on. You almost met the same fate tonight. It's not lethal by itself as long as they don't decide to burn you, but it hurts like hell."

He had to admit the scar was unnerving as was the reason behind it. Perhaps this was the reason why they all feared her and bowed at her feet because she had drilled into their heads from early on the consequences of disobedience. "She's not told me any of this..." he replied, confusion setting in again as he tried to come to terms with his new life. "She's not told me anything at all..."

"That's because it's not something she'll tell you, young one," Nettie said, fastening a velvet choker over the scar. "It's something she'll _show_ you...if you give her cause. Take my advice and do as she says. You're far too handsome to end up naught but a smoldering pile of ash."

Jasper nodded in quiet obedience.

"The rewards for obedience are lavish," Lucy explained. "But the punishments for defiance are equally...lavish." She hiked up the gem of her skirt to show Jasper the ragged white scar that encircled one of her thighs.

Jasper eyed the white scar thoughtfully. "She takes pleasure in treating others this way?"

Lucy laughed softly. "She takes pleasure in maintaining power and control. Whatever she does is simply a means to that end. I suppose it was her human life that made her this way, though it didn't have the same effect on Nettie and I. Well, at least not to the same degree…"

Jasper's eyebrows pulled together, taking in Lucy's words. "Her previous life?" he asked, with an expression, a study of thought.

Nettie looked around her in genuine fear for a moment before she pressed herself against Jasper's arm, placing her lips to his ear. "Haven't you figured it out? Maria, Lucy and myself were all ladies of the night. Maria, in particular, was highly sought after before...well… Did you not notice the scar on her neck?"

"No, what scar?" Jasper asked, confusion written across his face. Ladies of the night was a suggestive term, but he understood it. He'd seen many of them in town and hanging around the Confederate campsites. However, being raised the way he had been, he'd never indulged in them.

"You'll find it just under her left ear," Nettie whispered. "Instead of paying, a man thought he would simply slit her throat after she rendered her services. She managed to take the knife from him and slit his throat instead. No one cared that it was in self defense. She was sentenced to hang."

He couldn't deny that he did feel a pang of pity for Maria and what she'd gone through in her human life and suddenly the way she was now made perfect sense. She was simply after things that she was denied in her human life: respect, acknowledgement and possibly, a small dose of revenge toward men. However, he didn't agree with the way she was going about it. There were far better ways to gain respect.

"A vampire named Benito turned her and saved her from the hangman's noose. He fancied himself in love with her but Maria never returned his feelings, though she did use his to gain power within his coven," Lucy explained. "He had created the first vampire armies in order to claim territory. Maria created Nettie and I as bait in order to lure young soldiers from their camps. Benito wanted soldiers, men with fighting experience, for his army. Men like you and the others here."

"Maria, craving more power than she could obtain in Benito's service, killed him and took over his army and his land. And here we are…" Nettie smiled. "So you see, after living a human life where she was powerless and endured so much violence as a result, power and control are of the utmost importance to her as a vampire. And what's to stop her from having either? She's strong enough and determined enough to keep a tight hold on both."

He hung onto her words, committing them to memory as they floated from her lips and nodding simply as Maria's story slowly unfolded, creating within his mind a mental image of a woman scorned and taking out her anger on others when she became immortal. Despite his small amount of sympathy for her it couldn't cloud the cruelty that she was capable of, the cruelty that was clear and evident in the scars that both Lucy and Nettie held. Sighing quietly, his eyebrows pulled together, as he absorbed this information. "Vampire armies, for what?" The words were on his lips, before he could stop himself from speaking them.

"For what?" Lucy asked, clearly confused. "Has she not told you? We have to defend ourselves from neighboring covens who would seek to take our land and our blood, enslave us or else destroy us!"

"She's told me very little about anything..." he admitted with a slight frown, realizing how ignorant of this life he really was. "She said that others are jealous of me and would seek to destroy me. She said that others are moving in..."

Nettie cast Lucy a conspiratory look. "Did she say why they would be jealous?"

"She just said that my feeling others emotions is a gift…and that others would seek to destroy me…" he mumbled, casting them a slightly unsure look.

"Gifted…" Nettie whispered. "So her assessment was correct after all…"

"Is that all you can do?" Lucy asked, her eyes flashing with excitement. "Can you just sense what others feel or does it go deeper?"

"I don't...know…" he mumbled. "She didn't say..." He puckered his eyebrows in concentration as if trying to figure that out for himself.

"If you truly are gifted then the extent of that gift will become apparent as time goes on and as you feed. Newborns have a hard time concentrating on much else than their thirst for the first few weeks. The others might very well grow jealous," she mused, casting him a speculative look. "She'll most likely take you to feed every night while the rest of us will have to make do with once every seven days…if we're lucky."

"That doesn't seem fair..." His voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

"We're not in a position to be concerned with fair," Nettie said, massaging her throat in hopes of easing the thirst that flared there. "Maria seems confident that we can enlarge our hold here in Texas, maybe even take back Benito's old lands in Mexico. Things will be better then..."

"We would need a larger army than what we have…" Jasper pointed out. They would need a much larger army he would imagine, larger than six vampires to take an area that large. "They would need to cooperate, but I don't see it as an impossibility."

Nettie sighed. "I know Maria plans to make more. But she's going to need to hunt before she can. How she created you without killing you I do not know. I can't remember the last time she fed. Instead she's been sending the newborns out to hunt in order to keep our defenses up. And Lucy and I are only successful at turning humans a little less than half the time..."

"Is there something in our saliva?" he questioned. "Every time I've been bitten...it's burned." His words trailed off into a quiet murmur as he took in Nettie's words. "How do you make a vampire, exactly?"

Nettie looked to Lucy who shook her head in response to Nettie's unspoken question. "That's something you'll know if and when Maria wants you to know. We've already said more than she would probably like for us to say and I'm in no hurry to have another limb ripped from my body...or worse."

Jasper nodded simply in response. Apparently they were sworn to some sort of secrecy and he wasn't about to try to work the answers out of them. Yet.

Curiosity quickly became his dominant emotion as his gaze lingered on her expectantly. "Maria mentioned limiting our feeding due to territories, but for what? I mean, cant we just feed whenever we want?"

"Sure, if you want to die!" Nettie exclaimed.

Lucy leaned toward him, her face serious and with a hint of fear in her eyes. "Out of all the vampire armies in existence, the most deadly belongs to the Volturi. They are like royalty and they rule over all other covens. The only thing they ask is that we keep the existence of our kind a secret. To defy them is to meet with certain death. If we were to feed without discretion, without hiding the evidence as we go, we would expose ourselves for what we are. The way around this, is to claim more and more land. If fifty humans die in a small area, people notice and then the Volturi notice as well. But if fifty humans die in a whole state, or over the area of two or more states…" Lucy smiled.

"The Volturi?" Jasper asked, his eyes widening in a look of shock and confusion. Lucy's face was a study of fear. Whatever and whoever these vampires were, they were obviously respected.

"Yes," Lucy said, running her hands through his golden hair again as though her were a favorite child. "But you needn't worry about them as long as you follow the rules. Of far more concern is expanding our territory. As terrible as Maria's displeasure can be she has nobly sacrificed relieving her own thirst so that the rest of us may feed. Unfortunately, it has also made her extremely irritable. Things would be better for all of us if we had more land on which to hunt."

Jasper shivered as Lucy's fingers slipped through his hair and tentatively took a step back, flashbacks of Maria's assault coursing through his mind. However, Lucy didn't seem to be as aggressive but she still looked at him the same way Maria did, like he was some kind of piece of meat. He nodded, hanging onto her words as she spoke, unable to stay the curiosity that grew within him. "More land..." he murmured in contemplation.

"Why do you jump back like that?" Lucy asked, confusion sparking in her eyes. Suddenly the confusion melted away and was replaced by humor. "Oh, I see…" she whispered in a low voice. "An innocent it seems, even at such an age. Well, dear, your secret is safe with Nettie and I." Laughter bubbled up from her throat as she reached out to trail her fingers down her face, an amused smile curving her lips.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, confused. "I didn't jump. I stepped..." he corrected her, remaining dignified as he gauged the humor in her eyes. "I was raised to respect women. Not take advantage of them," he amended, quietly.

"Then you are of a rare breed," she said, smiling. "But there is no woman here whom you would be capable of taking advantage of, love. You should be far more worried about one of us taking advantage of you."

"Maria already tried…" he assured her. But, finding her actions completely repulsive, he'd declined her.

"Of course she did," Lucy laughed.

"It won't be a secret to keep for long," Nettie giggled. "One way or another, Maria gets what she wants and she has her eyes set on you…"

"Whatever for? Why would she want me?" he asked, shifting his gaze between the two suspiciously.

"Why wouldn't she?" Lucy asked, smiling as her gaze roved over him from head to toe, lingering longer than appropriate between the two. "If I weren't likely to burn for it, I might try to claim you for myself."

Faint feelings of lust absorbed into his skin causing him to cast Lucy a speculative look as her eyes lingered a little further south then he would've liked. Suddenly he felt slightly uncomfortable as he shifted his feet. "I'm not a possession nor am I piece of meat…" he mumbled, flickering a quick furtive glace at her.

"No one is suggesting that you are, my dear. But you are rather a prize to be had," Lucy explained. "A newborn male who already exhibits unnatural control...quite attractive even for our kind...and gifted... You're rather unique. Most newborn males are rough, slavering beasts. Even Isaac has barely evolved above such. You actually stand a chance at surviving your first year."

"You mean survive fighting against these other covens?" He questioned, puckering his eyebrows together.

Lucy pursed her lips as though deciding she had said too much, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized his face. "Yes, that's right."

Jasper moved around Lucy and Nettie to face the four newborns present. Confidence consumed him, as he sucked in the last of his anxiety and fixed them all with a serious look."My name is Jasper Whitlock. First Calvary Regiment. Some of you may have fought with me." He pressed a gentle smile.

"Your leader," he began, an air of confidence coloring his tone, "is a cruel man. He uses his strength to intimidate you, break you, much the same way as he did to me." His speech rolled smoothly out of his mouth as he began to pace the line. "I, however, am not. I can offer you real training without threats or violence. I've experienced battle. I know how to plan, strategize and win…" As he drew to the end of the line his eyes fell on the boy in the confederate jacket. "You, soldier. What is your name?" he asked, a gentle tenor ringing through the commander in his tone.

"Daniel," the young boy answered. He was the smallest of the six having been only 15 at the time of his change, a drummer for the Confederacy. He had also been the one who had had the most trouble adapting to this new world and one side of his face was covered with scars that extended down his neck and disappeared under his collar.

"Daniel." He nodded, surveying the boy. He didn't look like much, honestly. He was younger than the others and from the scars marring his face he seemed to be having a rough go of things. "That's a good name. Can you fight?" he asked, turning toward him fully and giving him a speculative look.

"I'm still alive," Daniel shrugged. "There are many others that have come before and after me who cannot say the same."

Jasper nodded with a quiet smile. Looking at the boy he could see that despite his size he showed promise on the battle field.

"And what if we were to follow you?" one of the newborns asked. "What's to stop Isaac from coming back and killing us all?"

Turning on the newborn who'd spoken, Jasper became thoughtful. "Very good question," Jasper pointed out. "But there are five of us…and one of him. If we all worked together, as a unit then I don't foresee a problem with it. He's overly confident because he's got you believing that he's stronger than you. Perhaps, individually but not as a whole..." He moved on, pacing down the line as he spoke. "We are stronger than we think," he encouraged.

"And what of Maria?" another newborn asked. "Isaac is her favorite, her second in command… She might kill us if we rise up against him."

Jasper's gaze drifted to the new voice. "She won't," he promised with a genial smile. "Don't worry..." he said, sweeping his gaze across the others, as he turned on his heel and began to pace again. "I'll take care of Maria…" He cast his gaze across their faces as he moved down the line and unknowingly released a small dose of his influence, instilling their cooperation.

"When do we act?" Daniel asked, a grin slowly spreading across his young face.

Jasper's lips curved into a smile as his gaze fell on Daniel. "As soon as he comes back."

It was early morning, a few hours before sunrise, when Isaac came stalking back towards the barn, David in tow. David's presence was beginning to annoy him. Maria was beginning to defer to him more often than he cared for and often he had seen the two of them together in subtle and not so subtle ways when he returned home with a hunting party. Her decision to take David to her bed tonight in addition to him had ensured that his jealousy and anger reached the breaking point.

They were almost to the barn doors when, without warning, Isaac spun around and in one quick motion, ripped David's head off followed by his arms before the rest of him had even fallen to the ground. Gathering up the body parts, David's mouth opening and closing in a silent scream, his hands grasping futilely at the end of his detached arms and his legs flailing feebly from his torso, Isaac kicked the barn doors open. He fixed them all with a look that demanded obedience as he dropped the jumble of body parts to the ground.

"Start a fire," he growled.

Jasper stepped forward just as Isaac barged in. The others were gathered behind him, having mutinied against Isaac for him. They glanced among themselves in silence, unmoving.

"We don't have to listen to you anymore," one newborn in the back growled.

"It seems..." Jasper drawled, stepping forward and surveying Isaac with an amused smile, "your men have chosen a new leader. Me…" The hint of a laugh escaped his lips as he tilted his head ever so slightly. "Your reign is over. Step down, Isaac."

For a moment Isaac simply stared at them, anger and disbelief warring in his eyes. Then he took a step forward to match Jasper's, his massive hands balling into fists at his sides.

"You're going to follow him?" he asked incredulously. "The vampire we easily defeated only hours ago? A vampire who isn't even a day old? How can he possibly promise you anything worthwhile? Has he ever fought the armies we have encountered together? He doesn't know a thing about this world or what we're up against!"

When none of them spoke Jasper's lips curved into a smile. "I'm experienced in battle strategy and techniques. I can teach them things you cannot and as you can see..." he smirked, gesturing around him. "I can control them whereas you could not. Not one fight has broken out... since I've taken command."

"Your command is to be short lived," Isaac snarled. He lunged at Jasper but before he could wrap his hands around him Daniel was there, flashing forward to jump onto him with a howl of rage. Isaac reached up and flung him into the wall, ripping his arm off in the process with a metallic screech.

Before Jasper had any time to react to Isaac's attack, Daniel had blurred out of nowhere. The metallic screeching of Daniel's arm being ripped from its socket caused him to growl in fury as Isaac slung the boy off. "Now!" Jasper barked to the small band behind him and tackled Isaac, quickly moving to pin him to the ground.

Daniel writhed on the floor in pain, his remaining hand grasping the place where his arm used to be. Isaac had almost succeeded in throwing Jasper off of him and regaining his footing but soon he was overwhelmed by the other newborns, all of them descending upon him without mercy, grabbing and ripping until soon there was nothing left but a pile of body parts to match David's.

Daniel crawled to his severed arm and picked it up off the ground just as Nettie and Lucy came running into the barn, their eyes wide with horror.

"We heard-" Nettie began.

Lucy stared at the remains of Isaac and David lying on the ground before shifting her eyes to Jasper. "What have you done?"

Maria appeared in the doorway. Her eyes fell on David's dismembered body and her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. That was until she spotted what remained of Isaac, his hands clenching and unclenching into useless fists, his eyes staring up at her in pleading. Her mouth fell open, a look of shock sweeping across her face for a moment before her eyes hardened in rage.

"Who is responsible for this?" she hissed.

Jasper's gaze flew to the doorway, as Nettie and Lucy ran in, followed by Maria. The sudden spark of rage in her eyes had sucked what confidence the other newborns had, as they drew back behind him and left him standing alone amongst the remains. "I am..." Jasper admitted, pushing a sheepish grin. He cast an uncertain look to the newborns cringing behind him.

Maria glared at Jasper as though she could fly across the room and rip him to pieces, adding his dismembered body to the growing pile on the ground. "You..." she seethed. "Outside...now."

Jasper glanced around him warily before allowing his gaze to shift reluctantly back to Maria and face the wrath in her eyes. He nodded in obedience and brushed past her, slipping out of the open doors of the barn and waiting for her to follow him out.

Maria's angry strides overtook Jasper's as she stormed away from the barn and out into the empty field beside it. She walked for a long time, her hands clenched into fists at her sides before she finally whirled around to face him. She said nothing, her face set in stone as she stared at him in the moonlight, her stillness almost as frightening as her rage had been.

Jasper followed behind her at a safe distance, unable to take his eyes off of her rigid form. He stopped as she spun to fix him with a hard glare, her fists balled at her sides. He dropped his gaze to the ground and shifted his feet, unable to keep from peeking up at her through his eye lashes. "I guess I owe you an explanation..." he began with a trembling voice. "I took control of Isaac's army while he was gone... and I convinced them to follow me instead of him. When he came back, I gave him a choice. He chose to attack me instead of back down from his rank."

She remained still a few minutes more before she finally spoke. "How did you convince them?" she asked, her voice flat and devoid of any detectable emotion.

Jasper pursed his lips together. "Well..." he began, once again gauging her expression before he spoke. "I told them I could train them more efficiently than Isaac without threatening them or using force. I have knowledge of battle plans and strategy and somehow I was able to get them to cooperate with me to over throw him..."

"I see..." she replied, locking her hands behind her back and moving to pace a circle around him. "Do you think you can now convince me not to kill you where you stand?" Her voice was chilling as she pressed her lips to his ear. "You are barely a few hours old and already you have managed to anger me more than any newborn I have created to date. You've questioned me, refused me and now my second in command, my best fighter, lies in pieces."

Jasper swept forward, turning and locking his arms around Maria. He pulled him to her in a suggestive manner that didn't beg for argument and pressed his lips to hers. The gentleman he had once been was repulsed but the newborn vampire he had become won out, aroused by a budding desire that was almost as potent as his desire for blood. He splayed a hand across her back and swept his other hand up to lock his fingers firmly around the back the back of her head, knotting them into her hair.

She remained unmoving under his kiss, her eyes open and scrutinizing his face but softening ever so slightly into something lustful rather than angry. Her lips curved in a smile as she knotted her hands possessively in his hair.

She took his bottom lip between her teeth with a low growl before pulling away, pressing her forehead against his and staring deep into his crimson eyes with her own. "You are confident that you can lead them?" she asked.

The desire escalating within him was almost a tangible thing as Maria drew back, catching his bottom lip between her teeth. "Very," he breathed, locking eyes with her. Curving a sly smile, he cut loose a playful growl.

She nodded, her eyes shifting toward the place on the horizon where the darkness was retreating and giving way to dawn. "Burn him," she ordered, curling her fingers under his chin and skimming her lips across his, their touch feather light and teasing. "David is to be spared. Stay inside until night fall and make sure the others do the same."

"As you wish," he promised, inclining his head with the simple guidance of her fingers. The feather light brush of her lips was nowhere near enough. The temptation of them sent a shiver through him, a wave of desire that he could hardly temper. "You've made a wise choice..." he crooned, reaching up to trail his fingertips across her cheek.

"I hope so," she whispered, pleased to find him more agreeable. She turned on her heel and strode towards the house. Halfway there she looked over her shoulder, her eyes scanning over him and reflecting both desire and threat. "It would be dangerous to prove me wrong."

"Would it now?" His lips twitched into a smile, almost as if he were intrigued by her threat, if not somewhat turned on. He regarded her quietly, allowing his gaze to rove over hers. Without further thought, he disappeared into the barn.

Upon entering, Jasper's gaze swept across the four pairs of eyes watching him. He linked his hands together behind his back and kicked one of Isaac's arms out of his way. "Get a fire started and burn Isaac..." he instructed, fixing each of them with a serious look. "Put David back together…"

Lucy's eyes were full of disbelief as she stared at Jasper from where she sat on the ground, her arm still protectively draped around Daniel. "I kept waiting for the sound of you being ripped apart," she gasped. "How did you-?"

"How else?" he answered cryptically, scoffing as he moved past her and the boy. The others got the fire started fairly quickly, wasting no time in obeying Jasper's orders. He began flinging body parts onto the fire and stood back, emotion swept clean of his face as he watched the body parts of his opponent and rival burn, the faintest smile curving the corners of his lips in triumph.

Lucy and Nettie continued to gape at him. There was something different about him, dark and sinister in eyes that had before been confused, timid even. The newborn that left the barn with Maria was not the same one that had returned and they found themselves shrinking in front of him instinctually.

Unlike before, their shocked stares no longer bothered him and without a passing glance, he brushed right past them and approached the newborns.

He turned on his heel to face the newborns behind him. "Tomorrow, we start your training..." His gaze was calculating as he took in the faces of each one. "Tomorrow, you learn how to fight and win. Mexico will be ours…" he promised.

A chorus of hisses and growls rose up from them, their eyes sparkling with anticipation. Daniel got to his feet, leaving Lucy's side without a backward glance in her direction. She looked after him, pain in her eyes as she watched his small frame engulfed in the group of larger newborns. The small part of her left that was remotely human and capable of feeling anything beyond thirst ached at the idea of him fighting anyone, her mind flashing back to a hazy memory of an infant son ripped from her arms shortly after she had birthed him, never to be seen again.

The smile curving Jasper's lips stretched widely across his face, very pleased to hear the eagerness and anticipation in his soldiers. The burn in his throat escalated at the very promise of more blood for the taking, bringing a discomfort down on him that briefly flashed across his face. His gaze shifted ever so slightly to the corner where Lucy cringed as Daniel joined the circle. The confusion and conflict were completely gone from Jasper's eyes having become replaced with a calculation and hunger that burned within their crimson depths.

Lucy stayed put. Nettie, however, shared the enthusiasm of the others and she surveyed Jasper with a newfound appreciation. She sauntered over to him, coming to stand so close to his back that her breath stirred the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Not so innocent anymore, are we?" she purred, her lips curving in a dark smile.

His lips curved into a calculating smile as Nettie's breath stirred the hair on the back of his neck. His gaze traveled over his shoulder to meet hers. "Not so much," he breathed.


	4. Battle Plans

Battle Plans

Maria watched from the window of the room she had claimed as her own private sanctuary, its trappings of pilfered elegance both regal and decadent. The four poster bed belonged to the former occupants of the home whose blood she had long ago feasted upon, the satins and velvets strewn across it obtained in a variety of ways, all of which began and ended in death.

Her skin shimmered in the fading daylight cutting through the glass before finally returning to a luminescent ivory under the rising moon. Her eyes shifted to the barn below and she tilted her head as she listened to the rather subdued sounds within. The barn had always been a chaotic, snarling nest of violence and it was not uncommon for her to lose at least two newborns for every three she created due to the fighting that erupted at almost regular intervals both day and night. And yet a whole day had passed and it had remained quiet, however inexplicably.

Maria's brow furrowed in thought. Perhaps it wasn't so inexplicable after all. Jasper was gifted. He could sense emotions. That she knew. But he had explained his ability to take control of her fledgling army from Isaac by saying that somehow he had convinced them to follow him. Newborns, by their very nature, were not convinced easily unless one was prompting them with blood of which Jasper had had none. Just promises…promises made to vampires without the ability to concentrate on much else but their thirst. Potentially empty words meant little to them and they all feared her enough that words would not have been enough to sway them.

She considered the possibility that his gift ran far deeper than she had realized, a smile quirking her lips. Whatever it was it was allowing him to focus at a far greater magnitude than any day old newborn should have been able to manage. He was quite a unique creature. One that needed to be groomed properly for his place at her side lest he seek to overtake her…

The sun completely set, she turned and made her way down the stairs and outdoors, walking to the barn with a purpose. Reaching the double doors she flung them open, her calculating gaze sweeping the interior in search of her newest creation.

Jasper's thirst, magnified by the thirst of the five newborns in his care, was almost intolerable. His throat constricted against the fire in his throat to the point of driving him mad. All he could think about was quenching that fire with as much blood as he could get his hands on.

The training had gone on for most of the day until his thirst had taken a firm hold on his conscience and willed him unable to concentrate on anything else. Having allowed them to retire for the remainder of the day, Jasper had moved off on his own. Leaning against the wall at the back of the barn, he kept an ever watchful gaze on his charges with an expression awash with pain. One hand found its way to his throat as he attempted to smooth away the discomfort but to no avail.

Maria's entrance registered with him on a deeper level than merely sight. Her presence meant that he would get to quench the fire raging within his throat and without much aforethought, he found himself shrugging away from the boarded wall and moving toward her.

Maria graced him with a seductive smile before turning her eyes to Lucy. "You're with us," she commanded. "David, you're in charge while Jasper is gone. If I lose even one in his absence, you'll burn for it." She turned and walked outside, standing with hands on her hips as she waited for Lucy and Jasper to join her.

The hint of a smile curved Jasper's lips at the sudden jump in rank he'd managed during his short life as a vampire. He was barely a day old and had successfully gone from being no one of any importance to second in command in just a few short hours. "They should be fine..." he assured David, casting him a side long glance before following Maria out of the barn and into the night air.

"Jasper, I think we could manage three for you tonight without causing too much trouble if we keep to the northern most part of our territory. It's been more than a month since we hunted there," she said without turning to look at either of them. "Lucy, you get one so make it count. Also, I will need your help tonight in procuring potential newborns. We need to build up numbers and quickly."

Her throat ached more tonight, so much so that it made her voice rough. It had been nearly three months since she had fed and was reaching the end of her ability to endure the pain. Still, she was determined to hold off for as long as possible. The only person she had to fear an uprising from though was Nettie and she was carefully hiding her slowly growing weakness from all of them. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make as their leader to shore up her defenses. There were forces moving against her and she needed her newborns to be well fed and ready or they would all die.

The raw ache flared at the very thought of getting to feed and quenching the thirst that was almost maddening. He managed to nod, unsure if he could push through the fire enough to will himself to speak. Venom pooled in his mouth at the very prospect of the blood to come, both excitement and hunger sparking in his eyes as he shifted his gaze to Lucy.

Maria turned her head to look back over her shoulder. She nodded at them before she burst forward, running so fast her feet barely touched the ground, her black hair streaming out behind her blurry form. The night air was laden with scents and even though it was far off, the smell of human set her throat ablaze.

Jasper took off behind Maria with a burning in his throat that flared mercilessly as they crossed the human scent laden trail. Instinctively, he drew in a breath of the delicious scents and allowed the raging fire in his throat to determine his course and take over his senses. He flashed forward, locking onto to the delicious flavors in the air.

Lucy followed Jasper closely but hung back from him. She, too, had scented the humans, determining they were a few miles off. Two if she were correct… Her eyes narrowed as she shifted her gaze to Jasper's back, the ground flying away beneath him as uncertainty sparked in her eyes. Would it be now that she could ease the ache that threatened to tear her apart? Or would she have to wait?

His feet flew across the ground so quickly that they barely touched the earth beneath them. Lucy's scent drifted from behind him, mingling with the delicious smells in the air. Two in fact…a third one more bitter and not at all appetizing mingled in between them. Jasper's nose crinkled slightly but he couldn't stop the venom pooling in his mouth over the others. The faint sounds of three hearts twined together in rhythm caught his ears. Casting one backward glance to Lucy, he upped his speed.

Lucy pushed herself forward to match Jasper, her face pained as the scents grew ever closer. She grimaced as she swallowed a mouthful of venom, the sting of it like swallowing ground glass. She stopped breathing to calm herself. It wouldn't help her to lose control and take a kill that wasn't meant for her, possibly getting a limb ripped off in the process, if not worse. Jasper was in charge now. She would have to defer to him. If he took them both then so be it. She had no choice but to wait and given the look she had seen in his eyes earlier, he was not someone she wanted to cross.

The faint outline of a carriage came in to view followed by the distinct sound of the horse's hooves striking the dirt road. His eyes sparked wild with hunger as a sinister darkness clouded over his face. His bright crimson eyes zeroed in on the couple up ahead and his mind shifted from searching to predator. Slowing his pace to shift into a crouch, he sent Lucy a look of warning to keep her distance while he fed.

Lucy skidded to a halt, shrinking backwards from Jasper as he glared at her. Apparently she was to wait. Her eyes darted to the two humans with longing, her lips pulling back from her teeth and a low growl coming up from her throat despite all her effort to stop it.

He left her there in the road without a backward glance and launched his charge on the couple in the carriage. Screams echoed across the vast space as an invisible force knocked the woman's husband from the carriage, materializing over top of him on the ground. An animalistic growl erupted from Jasper's throat as he pinned the helpless man to the ground and ripped his teeth into his throat. The sweet, succulent blood flooded his mouth and coursed down his throat, quenching the undeniable thirst inside of him.

Maria stood nearby watching the scene in front of her, gripping a nearby tree to keep herself from rushing forward and taking the humans for herself. Her breathing came in fast, hard pants as the scent of their blood threatened to drive her mad. She closed her eyes and concentrated on pushing the bloodlust away for the moment, giving Jasper the opportunity to feed instead. She needed him strong and focused now that he was in command. Still, in the face of the full force of her apparent hunger, she doubted she could turn any more humans without feeding herself. Perhaps they could afford to take four instead of three, she thought. The very idea of finding relief in the warm, wet throbbing of the twin pulses sounding before her made her tremble.

Lucy watched as Jasper drained the male dry, her thirst flaring out of control as the scent of blood filled the air. Movement tore her gaze away, however, when the female jumped down off the carriage and started to run. She was Jasper's and yet the urge to chase her was irresistible as she watched her flee. Her hands twitched at her side as she gritted her teeth against and overwhelming burn of hunger. Finally, unable to fight it any longer she took off after the woman, a wild snarl breaking from lips curled back in anticipation.

The meal whetted Jasper's appetite but nowhere near satiated his thirst as he drained out the last few drops. His gaze immediately snapped up, his eyes following the scene ahead of him, one that caused a wild snarl to rip from his throat. Lucy was after his other meal. Before he could even think about it he was on his feet and blurring after her, taking several leaps and bounds to catch up. Taking one final leap, he landed on her back and pushed her face into the ground with heel of his boot.

Lucy screamed to find herself flying through the air, a scream that was ended when her face was smashed into the dirt. Her hands came up, grasping to catch him. She lifted her head to find him out of her reach and she gnashed her teeth in frustration at having been thwarted in her attempt to take the human female for herself.

The sound of a sharp growl escaped his lips followed by a backward glare in her direction as he overtook the human woman and pulled her into a tight constricting embrace. She let loose a wild scream as Jasper swung her to face Lucy. His eyes focused unwaveringly on Lucy as he cut off the human woman's cries for help in a strangled gurgle, his razor sharp teeth piercing her neck.

Lucy seethed as she stared Jasper down, the triumph in his gaze as he watched her adding insult to injury while her throat burned with thirst. Soon, she told herself as she worked to calm her anger. Soon…

The blood was warm and sweet, made even sweeter by the victory over Lucy and the clear anger it caused her. His gaze, alight with humor, never traveled away from the female vampire in front of him and with his thirst finally slaked, he dropped the woman's body like a sack of potatoes. "Maybe next time," he chided, smirking and brushing past her to leave her with the body.

Lucy's eyes were like daggers shooting into Jasper's back as he walked past her. Had she not tried to be of comfort to him? Had she not sympathized? But he was unrecognizable now from the confused newborn who had been trying to make sense out of suddenly finding himself in a world he had never imagined. No, he had shed that persona and had given into instinct, to thirst. He had let the monster inside of him take over and she knew now that she could never let her guard down around him. Bloodlust combined with an unnatural control and a healthy ambition; he was more dangerous than any newborn she had ever encountered.

Maria's nails dug into the sides of the tree, her eyes focused intently on the woman's body, her teeth clenched against a wave of desire. Even drained and paling before her, the temptation stayed as strong as it had been moments before when she had been kicking and thrashing in Jasper's arms.

Releasing her hold of the tree trunk she cast her gaze briefly to Lucy. "Clean it up," she whispered, turning her back on her and following after Jasper.

Lucy shot Maria a sullen glare before standing and walking over to the woman's body first. Taking a knife from a belt at her waist, she drew it across the woman's throat slowly, the feel of the skin giving way beneath it serving to purge her anger. Calmly walking over to the male she did the same. If anyone were to find them they would assume they had been robbed on the side of the road by bandits. In order to complete the scene she pocketed the man's coin purse and removed the woman's jewelry. She admired a silver bracelet in the moonlight before breaking out in a run after Maria and Jasper.

Giving in had been surprisingly easy and the freedom that followed felt as if a burden had been suddenly lifted off of his shoulders. All he could think about was blood and how to get more, the need much stronger than anything else he'd ever known.

His acute hearing tuned into the sound of whisper quiet feet fast approaching behind him and his body instantly stiffened in response. Digging his feet into the earth, he spun to face his attacker and instantly dropped into a crouch, having cut loose a wild hiss. Surprised crimson eyes focused on Maria, assessing her in a scrutinizing fashion. Drawing in a breath of her scent brought with it the realization that she wasn't a threat, allowing him to relax his posture.

Maria didn't even flinch at Jasper's reaction to her approach. She was far too experienced with newborns to feel any fear, even in the face of one as vicious as Jasper was turning out to be. Besides, she was confident in her hold over all of them. Few had challenged her and those who had had died swiftly and without mercy. Even weak with thirst she was deadly and even as her expression remained calm, the hard glint of power never completely left her eyes.

Those eyes observed him now as he straightened out of his crouch, calculating even in their stillness. "Are you quite done?" she asked, her voice even.

Jasper's lips twitched into a smile. "Quite."

Humor flickered in Maria's eyes, mingling with the darker things that lurked there as she returned Jasper's smile. She turned her gaze back to Lucy who came to a stop by her side. "Our next target should be far from here to be cautious."

His gaze shifted to Lucy's arrival. The little vampire, whom he'd nearly fought with over a meal. Such treatment of a lady of any means would be inexcusable if, in fact, he were still human. The lingering emotions that had clung to him after his change had died off rather rapidly with his first kill and the promise of more.

Without another word Maria took off, hunger fueling the speed at which she ran. Jasper regarded Lucy with a wary look before taking flight after her.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Jasper, her face otherwise impassive. She didn't trust him and she was beginning not to like him either. Even when Isaac had been in charge she had never been made to feel beneath him. Her true place had been such in the order of things but she felt more his equal being that she was far older and had been with Maria longer. Jasper was a little over a day old and yet she felt as though her presence was merely being tolerated on this outing. It was Jasper and Maria together and she just happened to be there.

She ran after them, her mood uneasy. She and Nettie were in a precarious position, she realized. They weren't above the newborn army anymore, standing at Maria's side and held in a place of honor. They were beneath it, just as desperate as the whores they had once been following after the Confederate campsites. Only now it was an army of vampires instead of young human men...

Maria turned to look at Jasper as they ran, an appreciative gleam in her eyes. He was truly a thing of beauty, especially under the moonlight with the wind in his hair, his eyes red and glowing from a fresh kill. He was now her prize possession, all anger she had felt initially at Isaac's demise a distant memory. She had sensed his potential and while she had thought at first that she might have been mistaken, he had proved her correct in her assessment. She couldn't be happier.

Jasper caught the look in Maria's eyes and pressed a slight smile in response. Running beside her as an equal seemed right and the way she looked at him sent a wave of desire through him that he felt helpless to temper. The gleam in his eye sparkled, hungry for more than merely blood.

A farmhouse came into view and a wide smile broke out over her features. She came to a stop, turning to look at Jasper and Lucy with eyes that spoke to her predatory nature.

The farmhouse held the promise of blood as three delicious scents twined together in such an enticing manner that he couldn't help but draw in a breath of the delicious aroma, the burn in his throat flaring at the sudden anticipation of silencing the music the three pulses within created.

"Three," she announced. "One each." Her fingers curving into claws in anticipation of the kill she strode off toward the house. "Jasper," she called over her shoulder. "You're with me."

Jasper nodded in agreement. Venom pooled in his mouth in anticipation as he moved off after Maria, Lucy now forgotten and left behind to watch.

Standing under the second story window, Maria tilted her head back and inhaled deeply. The scents were unbearably sweet and for a moment her hunger flared to the point that she considered fighting Jasper and Lucy for all three humans. She shook her head to clear it, her raven black hair tumbling down her back.

Joining her under the second story window, Jasper's eyes shifted to Maria and patiently waited for her orders. His throat flared mercilessly, almost to the point where he considered mutiny, claiming them all for himself. He was quite positive that he could overtake Lucy and possibly even Maria, who was weak from hunger. He cleared out the dark thoughts in his mind and shifted his predatory gaze back to the window.

She turned her head, her feline eyes roving over him. "Ready?" she asked.

Orders given, Jasper nodded with his gaze locked on the upstairs window. The window that separated him from his meal as his thirst once again flared... His lips curved into a wicked smile as he launched himself off the ground and scaled up the side of the house.

Maria was right behind them, reaching up to grab the eave of the house and swinging backward, her feet smashing through the window a second before she landed inside the bedroom. The husband and wife in the bed there sat up, startled and immediately began screaming upon catching a glimpse of her standing before them. She tilted her head to the side, studying them with glittering red eyes as she drank in their fear. With a feral snarl she flew across the room, pouncing on the man and snapping his head to the side with a savage yank of his hair. Her lips parted, caressing the sensitive skin of his neck almost in a kiss before her teeth sank into his throat, piercing the artery and filling her mouth with the sweet taste of his blood. Maria moaned low in her throat, the sensation too long denied her and causing a wave of sheer ecstasy to course through her body.

Jasper materialized in front of the open window, right behind Maria. The humans in the room terror stricken and screaming gave him a sense of superiority as he flashed to the side of the bed where the female sat. She was frozen in terror, watching as Maria drained her husband. The sweet smell of his blood matched with her scent caused him to lose all sense of control. His eyes darkened in desire as he snatched her from the bed and roughly snapped her head to the side. He parted his lips gracefully and slammed his teeth into her neck with instant gratification as the blood flooded his mouth. Having effectively cut off her screams in a strangled gurgle he tightened his grip around her, pulling her closer to him in an almost intimate manner.

Lucy growled at Maria and Jasper's impatience. Her human was probably awake now and possibly attempting to flee. She cocked her head to the side, listening for movement within above the chaos inside the room Maria and Jasper had entered. Then she heard it...a human heartbeat and screaming separate from that taking place elsewhere in the house. The third human... Her human... With a dark smile, Lucy scurried up the side of the house, busting through the window there and slipping inside the room.

She was about to attack when the sight of her intended meal sent her reeling backwards. A young boy with sandy blond hair, probably no more than fourteen, stood pressed against the wall, his blue eyes wide with terror. Hair blond like hers and eyes blue like the soldier whose name she never knew... She stared at him in horror, this boy who could have been her own lost son.

Maria broke away from the man with a wild gasp, shifting her eyes over to Jasper and watching with sadistic pleasure as he held the woman against him, draining her dry. His embrace was almost sensual and even though he was killing the poor human, she felt oddly possessive as she crawled across the bed and knelt on the edge. She trailed her fingers down the nape of his neck while he fed before leaning forward, her bloodstained lips brushing against his ear.

"Jasper..." she whispered seductively.

Jasper ripped himself away from the woman's neck and let go, her body tumbling from his grasp and hitting the floor with a sickening thud. His gaze, still alight with the adrenaline from the kill, turned toward Maria's alluring voice.

Blood smeared across his cheeks and lips contrasted drastically against his alabaster skin. Desire overtook the hungered gleam in his eyes as his gaze ticked across her seductive posture, her scent more alluring than he'd ever imagined. The seduction in her tone only served to drive that desire up further as an animalistic snarl escaped his lips. He flashed his hands out and grabbed her by the shoulders and roughly pulled her to him, instantly seeking out her lips, his tongue sliding across to lap up the blood.

Maria grabbed handfuls of Jasper's hair as she shamelessly pressed herself against him. She snarled back at him as she sunk her teeth into his lip before gripping his arms and hurling him onto the bed. Straddling him she claimed his throat with hungry kisses, her nails raking down his chest and digging into his marble skin through the fabric of his coat, vest and shirt.

A low moan escaped his throat in response to Maria's bite. His lips worked eagerly, far more hungrily, against hers and soon he found himself being shoved backward onto the bed. He was helpless, no more than putty in her capable hands. The sensation of her nails biting into the marble of his skin caused him arch his back in pleasure beneath her with another low groan escaping his throat. His head twisted to the side as he arched his neck against the hunger in her kiss, desire ruling him. Locking one hand firmly around the back of her head and knotting his fingers into her hair, Jasper reclaimed her lips.

Maria smiled against his lips, a shiver running through her at the sensation of his fingers yanking in her hair. She pulled away ever so slightly, fixing him with a red-eyed stare.

"See?" she whispered, skimming the tip of her nose against his and baring her teeth at him. "Belonging to me doesn't have to be…unpleasant."

She began to lower her lips back to his when suddenly she froze. The house was quiet except for the sound of a single heartbeat. Lucy's scent, however, was thick in the air.

"What is she—"

Maria leapt from the bed and flew out of the room, flashing inside the next bedroom in a blur. The sight that met her eyes caused a sharp hiss to escape her lips.

A human boy sat on the floor, curled into a terrified ball and trembling uncontrollably. She held no pity for him but an incredible amount of anger swelled within her to spot Lucy standing across the room, blankly staring at the boy like an idiot.

"What are you doing?" she spat, her confused gaze darting from Lucy to the boy and back to Lucy again.

Lucy shook her head helplessly, swallowing back the venom that pooled in her mouth and pressing herself even more closely against the wall.

Jasper's lips curved into a menacing smile, the calculation in his eyes sparking at Lucy's glare. His head tilted as faint feelings of sympathy hit him, absorbing into his skin from across the room. "How sweet…" his voice hissed out, in mock awe.

"He's just a boy!" Lucy cried, staring at Jasper in disbelief.

"You're thirsty!" Maria hissed. "Kill him!"

Lucy's eyes darted to Maria, her face crumpled in pain. "Please, Maria... I'm begging you. Don't make me do this thing."

Maria assessed her for a moment, her eyes going completely cold as she took a step toward the boy. "Fine. I'll change him then."

Lucy snarled as she launched herself into the center of the room, crouching in front of the boy, her lips pulled back over clenched teeth which she bared threateningly at Jasper.

"No!" she screamed. She couldn't bear the thought of Maria turning him into one of them, of seeing his baby blue eyes become red with blood, the innocence wiped clean off his young face. She couldn't bear the thought of him standing amongst the other newborns, so small in comparison to them and enduring their violence like Daniel. Seeing the barely contained rage seep into Maria's gaze and feeling Jasper's eyes upon her she lowered her head in submission. "No," she repeated softly. "I...I'll do it." She turned to look at the boy, hesitating. He began to sob and Lucy flinched, clenching her teeth against her own.

Jasper's lips turned up into a menacing smile as he slipped into a crouch and slunk forward, his own lips pulled back over his teeth and a threatening hiss slipping out through them. "Kill him, or I will," he ground out, gritting his teeth together.

Lucy snapped her head around to fix Jasper with a look of pure hatred for in that moment hate was almost as prominent as her pain. She hated them both...Maria and Jasper. But more than anything, she hated herself.

Jasper backed off almost immediately, his expression turning to one of confusion and concentration as if his brain were trying to compute something he couldn't quite understand. It wasn't the strength of her feelings toward them that had him confused it was the pain rivaling it. Discomfort in taking the boy's life, something that shouldn't even come into question. They were vampires, meant to feed on people and not coddle them as if they should be felt sorry for. Humans were food, like cattle to humans, below them in every way, not equals.

Turning back to the boy, she crept closer and crouched in front of him, her eyes once again softening. "Sshhhh..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "It won't hurt, I promise..."

She reached out as though to caress his cheek, her fingertips hovering just above his tear-stained face. A sob broke forth from her lips in the same instant that that hand flashed out, gripped the boy's neck and quickly snapped it. His lifeless body pitched over and fell to the floor. Lucy closed her eyes and didn't open them until she had stood and turned away from the sight. When she did, her eyes were full of contempt, lingering on them both before she left the room, her thirst intact but a piece of her soul left behind.

The scene played out slower than he would've liked and he felt his lips crease at the corners in impatience. His gaze never left Lucy as she comforted the boy, so much so that it was almost sickening to watch. The pain she felt continued to flicker into his own emotional climate despite his efforts to keep it out. Her thirst was almost as prominent and he was sure it took every bit of control she possessed to keep from feeding. Shock replaced the repulsion on his features as she proceeded to just snap the boy's neck and turn away. What was she doing? He growled, gnashing his teeth together as she turned a contemptuous look to them both before leaving.

Maria seethed as she stared at the boy's body. Lucy had killed him and robbed her of a newborn. That she wouldn't have cared about had Lucy fed from him. But she hadn't and her refusal to do so had sent a message as clear as the look in her eyes.

"Find out what that was about," Maria hissed, her eyes burning as she turned to look at Jasper. "I will not have weakness in our coven."

He nodded and without a further word turned on his heel and exited the room to find Lucy in the hall. "What the hell was that?" His southern accent layered his words as he gritted his teeth.

Lucy glared at him before turning and walking away. She reached the stairs and ghosted down them making her way for the front door.

He caught her by the arm and spun her to face him, halting her in her steps. "That was a perfectly good meal you just wasted," he seethed.

Lucy looked up at him, her eyes sparked with anger to rival Maria's. "Get your hand off me," she growled, enunciating each word as though to burn him with the venom they contained. "I have no qualms in fighting you. You'd surely kill me but in this moment I find that I don't give a damn."

She wrenched her arm from his grip and ripped the front door of the house off its hinges before going through it and striding into the trees.

Jasper growled in frustration as she ripped her arm free and stormed out of the house. With a shake of his head, he followed. She wasn't going to get off that easily, not by a long shot. He strode out across the lawn and into the trees behind her. However, somehow he felt his anger dissipating into something else…curiosity.

"What was that?" His voice wasn't nearly as cutting, but it still held an irritated edge.

"_That_ was the most disgusting thing I have ever done," she said quietly as she walked. "I have killed hundreds, probably even thousands. I have no problems with killing nor have I ever felt guilty. But that was wrong. He was just a child…"

"Why?" he questioned as he moved up along side of her. "They're food. We're vampires. It's what we do." In his mind the answer was as simple as that and there was no room for feelings. "Your feelings were..." He narrowed his eyes. "Pained," he concluded. "I would've thought the prospect of taking a child would've been sweeter then wine..." The smile spreading across his face turned whimsical. "Much like veal. Young, tender…untainted by anything. Pure..." His voice moved to reflect his expression as he took her by the arm to bring her to a stop. "Given your... state, I can hardly see how you'd resist."

She shook her head to try and free it of the image of the boy's face but it remained, burned into her mind. She knew her vampire memory, so accurate and infallible, would never allow her to forget it. It would remain there for all eternity and in perfect clarity. She shuddered at the thought, knowing it would torture her for the rest of her days.

"So you choose to starve, rather than quench your thirst?" he questioned and narrowed his crimson red eyes, scrutinizing every shift of her expression.

"If that was the only meal that I am to be graced with this night, then yes," she replied simply. "If I am allowed to live then I will wait until I am given permission to hunt again."

"Is it worth it?" Jasper questioned. "It could be weeks until you're able to feed again. Your thirst will surely drive you insane."

Lucy shrugged, not caring what the consequences might be. She would deal with thirst if need be. She had decided that being thirsty was preferable to feeling the boy's blood coursing within her. The very idea made her want to retch.

"Are you faulty, then?"

Her eyes flashed to his face, her expression unreadable. "Faulty?" she asked, laughing darkly. "You sound like her already." She turned and resumed her course, not sparing him another glance. "Is it faulty to have a conscience? Or is it more of a defect to have none…like you? You weren't like this last night. You were…almost still human in some ways. What changed?"

Her words were biting, hurtful, but he found it easy to deflect the human reaction to be affected by them. "Human emotions have no place in our world," he sighed, casting his gaze toward the ground. The crash course he'd received from both Maria and Nettie had firmed that thought fully. There was no place for feelings, nothing except for the lust for blood and herd lands. Greed and violence were a part of the vampire existence, a constant war that never ceased. "What changed was the fact that I realized in this world, it's kill or be killed. My conscience made me weak, easily defeated. So I got rid of it," he replied simply in a voice as soft as feathers.

"Sadly, it's probably for the better that you did given what she has planned for you," Lucy remarked cryptically. "I'm simply bait but you… It's sad actually. From the small glimpse I received of who you used to be, you were a nice young man, far removed from what she will make of you."

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked, narrowing his eyes. What could Maria have planned for him? There was more to what Lucy was saying given the way she trailed off her words and he couldn't help but pry, curiosity getting the better of him. Maria hadn't told him everything and there was probably a lot more that he needed to know. "I'm not sure that I'm following."

"Killing Isaac was nothing. You barely even had to get your hands dirty. Your little newly acquired band of newborns did it for you. But newborns don't stay as they are...strong, vicious… They aren't always…desirable. Their strength begins to wane after the first year. And you will be tasked with culling the herd, making way for new ones. That is, if she decides to keep you after your own one year mark. You better prove yourself useful or you'll meet the same end." She shifted her gaze to him. "So you see, perhaps it is better that you don't have a conscience after all…"

"Cull?" he asked, eyes widening in surprise. "You mean that I'll have to kill them?" His question came off more as a statement, an affirmation rather than a query. Suddenly everything seemed to make sense. Lucy's words held a truth that he found himself trying to deny. He faltered in mid step and stopped, turning toward her. "Maria's not like that…she can't…she wouldn't do that to me. She's proud of me. She said so herself..." He shook his head, denying her words. She couldn't be speaking the truth, not after all the kindness Maria had shown him, not after the way Maria had looked at him. The way he viewed her was almost like the way a worshipper viewed a god in the face of her beauty, her kindness, undeniably good and easy to follow.

"Have you had your eyes open at all?" Lucy asked in disbelief. "She's kind to you when you do what she wants! She threatened to kill you only last night after Isaac was ripped apart! She only allowed it because you're the new blood. Isaac was losing his strength and his ability to lead."

Jasper's clouded thoughts began to clear out as the memories of his first day filtered into his mind. The scars that both Nettie and Lucy sported under Maria's wrath evidence to the very words she spoke. Recognition sparked in his eyes as her words finally began to sink in. "She did," he affirmed, sighing heavily. Maria's threat had chilled him to the bone without a doubt but surely she hadn't meant it. "But she was angry, surely she wouldn't..." But even then, deep down, he didn't believe his own words. She was that dangerous. He just wouldn't see it.

"Believe what you want. It doesn't matter what the truth is. If you want to live, then do as she says like I've told you from the beginning. You'll lose yourself in the process but then we all have a story of how we came to be what we are, how she corrupted us into these...things. Mine is no less tragic than anyone else's."

"And what is your story exactly?" Jasper asked, twisting up his lips into a smile.

Lucy sighed, staring into his eyes. "She sent you here to find out why I wouldn't kill that child. I heard her. Fine then. I'll tell you. If she's going to kill me for my perceived _weakness_ then it will be for the truth and nothing less."

She leaned back against a tree, turning her eyes up to the sky. "It was during the time of the Mexican-American War. I worked in a brothel in order to survive, like many other unfortunate young women of little means. The money was decent and it kept us fed. The soldiers would come into town when they were able, more than happy to spend a few hours in our arms and forget the horrors of the battlefields. I'm sure that's something that you can understand though you proclaim to have never indulged in such things…"

"No, never," he confirmed. "But women did hang around the camps at all times of the day. Most men hadn't seen a woman in weeks if not months so any woman who was willing to show him a good time was a welcomed sight. Being raised the way I had been I didn't participate in such things. No, I abstained in the hopes that after the war I would marry someone and sweep her off her feet and have children, lots of children. I had plans to move to Aqua Dulce and start my own ranch…" He trailed off, beginning to choke up tears that would never come.

Lucy listened to him, a quiet smile forming on her lips to see that the young man she had spoken to the night before was still in there somewhere even if it wouldn't be for long.

He drew in a deep breath and wiped clean his expression. "But, I guess that was foolish wasn't it? It'll never happen. I wished so much to say goodbye to war and couldn't wait for it to be over. Now it looks as if I'm destined to it for all eternity." His words trailed off into a soft whisper.

"I thought I was going to have those things," she whispered. "Even now I don't think it was silly to have wanted them, even for someone like me."

"Yeah…" he agreed quietly, nodding. "It's not silly at all. It's not fair, either," he mumbled, in a sullen voice.

Lucy looked away from him, staring at the ground. "One soldier in particular saw past what I was, saw the young and frightened girl underneath. He pledged his love to me and eager to escape that world, I believed him and I left. His regiment was camped near the town for a time and it wasn't long until I found myself with child. But he had to move on with them and I couldn't go along."

She took a deep breath, her eyes turning sad. "He wrote me and promised he would come back. But then the letters stopped coming and the money I had ran out. Desperate I returned to the girls at the brothel where I had lived. They hid me in their rooms and shared their food with me. The night my child was born I tried in vain to stop from crying out but I couldn't contain my screams. The brothel owner found me and she was furious. Times were hard after all because of the war and while I could earn my keep again a child was but another mouth to feed. She ripped him from my arms but not before I saw him."

Lucy's face crumpled in pain and she bit back a sob before composing herself enough to continue. "Many of my human memories are vague but I remember his face. I don't know what became of him. I never got the chance to find out. I became a vampire soon after. But I think of him often and wonder if he knows that I loved him for that one brief moment. If I'm capable of love in this form, as this thing, then I love him still…"

She turned her eyes to Jasper, the sadness gone from them. They were cold, unapologetic and full of challenge. "I didn't want to kill that boy because he reminded me of the son I lost. But I did because what other choice was there? We don't have choices anymore."

Jasper was silent, his eyes focused off into the distance as he listened to her story. Her words were soft and musical yet touched by sadness, a pain that he, in his human life, could have related to. War was violent, not meant for the meek or weak hearted, turning boys into men or killing them in the process. He was as still as a statue, reliving the horrors that had for two years almost consumed him. As if snapping back to life he shifted his gaze in Lucy's direction, catching the emptiness in her eyes, something that he recognized and knew.

"I see." It all he could manage as his mind computed this knowledge. What more could he offer her? What could he possibly say to comfort her?

"I'm sorry for what has happened to you…truly, I am," he said quietly, sincerity in his tone.

Lucy nodded in acknowledgement. "You're going to kill me now, aren't you?" she asked, her voice oddly calm as she linked her hands in front of her, her eyes never leaving his face.

"No, I'm not," he promised. "That is Maria's decision, not mine."

"Go to her then and see what she wants you to do with me," she said, her voice flat. "Right now, in my grief, I am not afraid to die but I might be later when my head clears. I'd rather get it over with now if that's to be the way of things."

"She will ask when I return to her…" he warned with a heavy sigh. "I can't lie to her or I risk my own life in doing so." Worry colored his tone as he contemplated the predicament. He wasn't quite sure what to do. If he told her the truth, Maria would most likely kill Lucy and if he lied then she would see through it and kill them both. Neither could win. But he couldn't justify turning her in to save his own skin. It was cowardly, something even in his human life he couldn't allow himself to be.

Lucy shrugged. "She brought me along tonight because I have my uses. With my luck she'll decide I'm worth hanging onto. I wouldn't worry yourself."

Jasper's glimpse of reality would be short lived. The fog had cleared for now, revealing to him the true nature of what lay before him, but it wouldn't be long before Maria got her hooks back into him, drawing him back into the darkness. Sighing heavily, he nodded. "Yeah, I shouldn't…" he agreed knowing his time was limited before he would once again be deluded. "She will get to me..." he admitted in a soft voice.

"When you become thirsty," Lucy agreed. "And it will become harder and harder to remember who you were. Human memories become dim and all that matters is blood. And then in a few years you won't even be able to remember having ever been anything else... Yes, I'm very familiar with how it works. Let's just hope you don't end up like me...torn between who you are and who you were. It would be better for you to feel nothing than to live with the stirrings of a conscience."

It had begun to dawn on him that each time he fed he became less connected with his human emotions. His human memories of the war, however, had thus far failed to dim. Instead they became more prominent like flash backs from the trauma he'd endured. Each violent act he committed in his vampire life seemed to bring them on stronger, spurring him on as if he'd known nothing else but war. The less violent, pleasant memories, however, had faded just as Lucy had described, becoming nothing but shrouded, vague recollections. He frowned at the realization.

She tilted her chin and managed to look down her nose at him despite their height difference. "You think you're different. But you're not. We all belong to her. And we always will."

"No, I suppose I'm not. We're all monsters. I understand now that being a vampire means fighting for your life. Perhaps it doesn't matter who we belong to..."

"If not to her, then someone else," Lucy confirmed. "Another coven, if they defeated Maria, would assess which of us to keep and which of us to destroy and we'd simply become bound to another master. For all her evil, I suppose the devil you know is better than the one you don't. I've heard stories about the others like her who control the neighboring covens that would terrify even the bravest among us."

"Like slaves?" he scoffed. Slavery was no new concept. It had abounded in the south for years. Only recently had it been declared that they all were to be set free and with that the war had broken out, among other reasons. In his human life he'd been ignorant, misguided and only now could he see how wrong it was to own another because, like the slaves on the farms in the south, he was a slave himself in Maria's service.

"Very similar to that, yes," Lucy agreed, quietly regarding him. "You'd better run along back to Maria or she'll become suspicious as to what we're doing out here. She wouldn't like us talking this way. She can be extremely paranoid about uprisings…"

Jasper was stronger willed then what Maria liked, given her level of control over him was shaky, at best. So it wasn't out of the ordinary that she would suspect them of an uprising. Given how he'd already angered her more than any other newborn she'd created she would be extra paranoid. He nodded, managing a weak smile as he shifted his gaze toward the ground and shifted his feet uncomfortably.

Lucy stopped and sniffed the air, her expression becoming confused as she looked back in the direction of the house. "I smell smoke…and fire…"

Noting the confusion coming off of Lucy he shifted his gaze back in the direction of the house. The distinct smell of smoke was faint but evident in the air. His eyes widened in horror as he turned to Lucy before he took off in a sprint back toward the house. Was Maria destroying the evidence? Or was she angry? His breath came in slow, even puffs as his feet flew across the ground, barely touching it in his flight through the trees. Branches smacked his marble hard skin but to him it was like being caressed by a feather.

Breaking through the trees and onto the lawn Jasper found the house in flames, billows of smoke reaching to the sky and choking out the stars above. His steps faltered bringing him to a stop several yards away. "Maria?" he yelled before he stopped his breathing, the acrid scent burning his nostrils and throat.

Suddenly Maria was at Jasper's side, her lips pressed to his ear. "There you are," she purred, wrapping her arms around him. "I was beginning to wonder what was taking so long. Did you find out why Lucy was being...difficult?"

"Yes," he stammered nervously. His body stiffened as she slipped her arms around him, her sweet, seducing words like music as she whispered in his ear. Despite his best efforts to uphold himself against her siren song, he found himself falling back under her spell. "She'd lost a child before she'd been changed, a little boy. The child reminded her of her son and she didn't want to take his life. That's all."

Maria narrowed her eyes as she stared past Jasper into the flames. "I see," she sighed, her eyes expressionless. "Hmmm…what to do, what to do?" She let go of Jasper and took to pacing, linking her hands behind her back and shifting her gaze to the burning house. If Lucy had decided to renounce her life here it would be convenient to simply push her into the fire. It would simply mean one more charred body amongst the ashes, if there was even that much left of her when the flames died out. It would be a shame to lose one of her best bits of bait though, she thought, feeling annoyed. Nettie was so volatile that she often killed more than she brought back to be changed.

The blank expression on Maria's face was a cold reminder of the story Lucy had told him. For the first time he was chilled by it, enthralled even, and unable to take his gaze off of hers as if waiting for a shift in her stony features. The calculation in which she moved, pacing a line in front of him as she contemplated Lucy's fate gave credence to her lethal nature. Had he said too much? He pressed his lips together as anger filtered into Maria's emotional climate though she remained deadly calm.

Jasper's eyes slid back over to the roaring fire. The blazing orange flames reached into the air like arthritic fingers, curling against the sky and covering the moon in a blanket of darkness.

"What is your opinion, Jasper? Should she live or die?" She walked over to him, trailing her fingers down his chest. "The fire is already set. She would be easily dealt with..."

So she was placing Lucy's fate in his hands and making him responsible for it? He grimaced as bright crimson eyes scrutinized her expression. "I see no reason why she shouldn't live…" His voice was shaky, his eyes sweeping across her delicate fingers trailing down his chest. He suddenly felt nervous under her touch, a feeling that had escaped him before Lucy had opened up. "She has her uses," he reminded her, managing a weak smile.

Maria's eyes looked deep into his for a moment, their unblinking and hard gaze speaking volumes, as though she were searching for a hint of deception in him. Finally she smiled though that fact made her look more frightening rather than softening her expression.

Her expression was unnerving yet his own didn't waver, his eyes transfixed on her as if he couldn't look away. The cool calculation in her smile chilled him, sending a shiver up his spine but his expression remained unreadable, giving no indication as to the sudden nervousness flooding through him.

"That's true," she mused, pursing her lips in thought. "She lives then...for now. But I want you to keep a close eye on her and Nettie as well. I'm not so sure that they are always deserving of my trust or my generosity."

"I will," he promised with one sharp nod. "I doubt there'll be any trouble," he assured her. Despite the cold, unnerving looking in her eyes, he managed another weak smile.

"You must never let your guard down, Jasper," Maria said, her tone grim. "Turning your back on them, even for a moment, would be a grave mistake. Let's hope there isn't any trouble but be expecting it nonetheless."

Walking away from him she swept her gaze through the trees behind him, placing her hands on her hips. "Lucy!"

Silence greeted them at first but soon Lucy came into view, stepping out from the tree line, her face still devoid of any emotion, resigned to her fate. She eyed the fire with a slight hint of trepidation but only for the briefest of moments.

Lucy's figure soon cut through the trees, silver blonde hair fluttering around her. She looked just as angelic as she had when he'd been turned. The image of she and Nettie taking flight on the breeze was burned into his memory, ethereal, flawless. Now as she approached a sense of foreboding surrounded her very sullen figure.

Lucy ducked her head. "Yes, Maria?"

"I have good news for you," Maria announced. "Despite your blatant insult to me, Jasper has decided that you shall live. Hopefully you will prove this to be a wise decision on his part and not a momentary lapse in judgment due to the delightful little chat you had with him regarding my perceived cruelty..." Her smile widened as she took in Lucy's shocked expression as Lucy realized that Maria had, in fact, heard everything.

Jasper turned shocked eyes toward Maria. He'd not even given a thought that she would be within ear shot and suddenly a knot formed in his stomach at the realization. He chanced a fleeting glance in Lucy's direction to find her staring at Maria with the same look of terror.

"I think we should be going now. The fire will attract attention." Maria began walking towards the trees, her steps measured and full of purpose. "Lucy, you know what task I would have you do. Let's hope you impress me by showcasing your much touted usefulness."

The shock faded from Jasper's eyes as he cut them to the billows of smoke coming off of the fire. The smoke would draw others in, rising above the trees in a silent plea for help. But help would come for these humans too late, being already dead and burned to a crisp before people could arrive. He nodded a silent agreement and snapped his gaze back in the direction Maria was heading, his own feet flying across the ground as he ghosted after her.

Lucy cast one final regretful look at the burning house and followed suit, running alongside Jasper. "Do you know of any Confederate camps in the area?" she asked quietly. "Soldiers are preferable for their military experience."

Jasper's gaze cut to Lucy as she caught up. "There are a few, yes," he confirmed, nodding. "There's a camp twenty five miles from where you found me near Galveston," he informed her as they ran.

"Could you take us there?" she asked. "With you present, you could even point out which ones you think would make the best newborns. You'll be the one training them after all."

He pressed his lips together as if he'd said too much. "Sure," he agreed quietly, hesitant. Suddenly he felt as if he were the one leading the lambs to the slaughter. His frozen heart felt as heavy as if it were a solid block of ice.

Lucy's eyes flickered to Maria's back and then back to Jasper as though she wanted to say something but feared doing so. "Will these be...men from your unit?" she whispered, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible even to their ears.

The apprehension in Lucy's eyes paled in comparison to her weighted words, words which he found difficult to swallow and he almost immediately regretted hearing them. Cautious eyes flickered to Maria's back and then returned to Lucy, turning slightly pained. He pressed his lips together, not sure if he particularly wanted to answer as if his silence would make it less monstrous. "Yes," he whispered in a voice colored with sadness. Those that were not changed would be killed and in some way Jasper felt almost like an angel of death.

Lucy's eyes grew hard as she nodded. "Then you should know who the best fighters are," she surmised. "Those are the ones we want."

Jasper's eyes narrowed as he forced out the preemptive guilt for what he was about to do. The world he'd been inadvertently born into had no room for sympathy or regret. "I do," he confirmed with a hard edge to his voice. "Follow me," he mumbled in a voice as soft as feathers before he blurred ahead of Lucy.

Maria glanced over her shoulder, her eyes lighting up along with the wicked grin that spread across her face. "Very good thinking, Lucy," she chuckled. "You might redeem yourself by the end of this night."

"This way," Jasper directed, suddenly splitting off from Maria and Lucy, making a sharp right turn. His feet flew across the ground, the greenery around him becoming no more than a streaky blur as he headed east.

Jasper slowed his pace to a crawl, shifting into a crouch as the smell of fire and alcohol reach his senses. Whiskey was a staple, something passed around between comrades every night as the fire blazed. Guitar picking and bad singing could be heard, all things to keep everyone in high spirits. When these sounds reached his ears, he knew he was close.

Horses from the cavalry were picketed along the tree line, just in sight of the supply wagon containing salted strips of beef, flour, beans and coffee. Jasper crept along the edge of the trees, keeping to the shadows as he surveyed the scene laid out before them. The horses moved nervously, jigging around and prancing their feet in slight agitation. However they were the only creatures aware of the danger.

The fifteen Confederate officers sitting around the fire were oblivious, the scent of alcohol coming from the whiskey bottle being passed. His thirst flared as fifteen thrumming hearts beat as one, calling to him like a song. Two more hearts beat nearby in the Officer's Quarters, where they were probably going over future strategies while the men relaxed.

Jasper's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the soldiers gathered around the fire. "The man with the curly black hair, the one furthest to the left... Horace is his name. He's strong, holds up well in battle. The wiry redhead in the middle, O'Donnell, is fast…" he explained without taking his eyes off of them.

"O'Donnell is an Irish immigrant. He moved over here a couple of years ago from Dublin with his folks. He's gullible, too gullible for his own good. Horace is a little more strong willed but like every man in the unit he's in sore need of a woman. Most haven't seen one in months, except when we happen to pass through a town…" Jasper explained, his eyes shifting toward Maria.

"Lucy would probably draw them out quicker. Given her...assets…" he mused.

Maria shifted her eyes to Lucy and nodded to her before she slipped her arm through Jasper's and favored him with a delighted smile. "You and I will wait in the shadows while Lucy does what she does best. It shouldn't take long."

Jasper nodded in agreement, shifting a quick look to Lucy. She was older, controlled. He was not and he could very easily see himself killing every man in front of that fire within a matter of minutes. He could already feel his thirst flaring at the sheer thought of such a feast, venom pooling in his mouth. He was too preoccupied to notice Maria slipping her arm through his. Longing sparked in his eyes as they roved over each and every one.

"You're going to have to control yourself," Maria reminded him, leveling her gaze on him. "We need them if we're to be able to defend ourselves..." She came to stand before him, curling his fingers around the back of his head and bringing his face down to hers. "If we're to gain more land, more blood..." she whispered, her lips a scant breath from his.

Control was the furthest thing from his mind. Sharp, heavy pants escaped his lips as the flames licked down his throat and left a feeling of being parched. The only thing that kept him from killing every man in front of that fire was Maria's grip anchoring him in place. "I'm so thirsty," he pleaded, swallowing.

"I know, my love," she cooed, running her fingers through his hair. "Things will be better soon. We just have to wait a little longer, build up our forces. I know you can do this for me. Soon we'll be the largest coven in all of Texas and then..."

Maria's bright crimson eyes soon blocked his view from the men around the fire, serving as a distraction to his thirst. Nodding weakly, he leveled his gaze on hers to temper his lack of control. "More blood," he rasped in a pained voice. Nodding vigorously, he complied.

Lucy took a deep breath, her face going blank as she closed her eyes. By the time she opened them her expression had completely transformed into one that was coy and inviting, all traces of sadness and anger over the death of the young boy earlier wiped clean. Untying a few laces from her bodice and allowing a few blonde curls to tumble over her shoulders she sauntered out of the trees and towards the men gathered around the fire.

The flickering firelight kept her red eyes in shadow as she came up behind the man Jasper had called Horace, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning down to press her lips against his ear. "I think I can warm you more than that whiskey, soldier," she purred. "It will only cost you but a crust of bread."

"Well, hello sugar," Horace boomed in excitement. His head turned to meet the gaze that belonged to the alluring voice. Her silver blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, framing angelic features. He was in love already having been without a female for so long. His eyes traveled down to her bodice and lingered there for much longer than necessary. "Can ya now? Honey, for you I'd give my right arm!" he boomed, laughing. "Name's Horace. What's yours honey?"

"Lucy..." she breathed, purposefully letting her breath stir the hairs at the nape of his neck as she brought her lips across the rough skin there, weathered by the sun and wind. His pulse was loud and only inches away from her razor sharp teeth. An almost unbearable ache clenched in her stomach still she kept her seductive smile in place.

"Lucy, eh?" he nodded. "Well now, little darlin', how about me and you make some music?" He could already see it now, the sweet surrender in her arms too tempting to pass up. His ache for a woman was almost as strong as the one to end the war and the blast of her breath against his neck caused him to swallow reflexively in anticipation.

The others sitting around him were far too shocked to speak. A woman was like a novelty, especially one that looked like this. Young, beautiful and apparently well bred. Most were strung out like forty miles of bad road. "You are a sight for sore eyes…" one drawled in awe, dropping the bottle of whiskey.

She could have them all. That fact only served to increase her hunger while also instilling her with an undeniable surge of power to realize the hold she had over them. They would all bare their throats for her willingly, probably not even minding the feel of their lives draining away to have her in their arms.

"Come with me," she whispered in his ear. Standing she cast a glance at the red haired soldier Jasper had indicated. "You too, sweetheart..."

Horace stood almost immediately, ready to get the show on the road however his feelings of excitement quickly soured into jealousy as she also called O'Donnell. The red haired boy glanced around as if she had to be mistaken, surprised and shocked as were the others around him. He stood up, casting nervous baby blue eyes to Lucy. "Yes?" he squeaked.

Sensing Horace's disappointment she cast her gaze back toward Maria. Her vampire eyes easily found her in the shadows. "My friend Maria would love you," she said, crooking a finger at O'Donnell and calling him closer. She let her gaze rove over him appreciatively, a wicked smile curving her lips. "Oh yes, very nice..."

"Oh really?" Horace brightened up. "She just as pretty as you, honey?" he asked with keen interest. "So where is this friend of yours?" His disappointment had given way to excitement once again after finding out there was another.

O'Donnell regarded Lucy nervously as she eyed him. Women always made him nervous and as she raked her eyes over him in appreciation, his heart kicked into top gear.

Maria shook out her hair, her eyes focused on her two prospective additions. "Hide and don't let them see you," Maria whispered, pushing against Jasper's chest. "I'll be back in a moment. There will be blood so you're going to have to try very, very hard to control your thirst. Can you do that or do you need to leave?"

Jasper nodded weakly, swallowing a mouthful of venom. He wasn't sure if he could handle it but they needed the numbers and if they were going to take more land then he would have to make himself find the control. "If it gets too difficult, I'll leave," he promised and ducked into the shadows, disappearing out of sight.

Maria took a deep breath to calm her own thirst before stepping out of the trees, her bodice unlaced just enough to show a tantalizing amount of cleavage. "Hello boys..." she growled seductively, her hair in a wild tumble around her face. She took them in feeling very satisfied with Jasper's choices. "Tonight might just be your lucky night."

"Well, well, well…" Horace mused, eyeing Maria appreciatively. He sauntered up to her with overwhelming confidence, leaving Lucy to O'Donnell. "You are quite the looker, aren't ya?" His eyes raked over her, lingering on the cleavage. "Wow, you have some goods." His grin widened to spread across his cheeks.

O'Donnell's heart pounded against his chest as he glanced between Lucy and the new arrival, Maria. Whores weren't anything new to the camps but these two seemed different, somehow.

The sound of O'Donnell's heart as it accelerated with nervousness nearly drove Lucy insane with thirst. She couldn't chance exposing them. Anxious to get them beyond the tree line she leaned in and whispered something quite lewd in O'Donnell's ear and followed it with a girlish giggle. Turning from him she walked back into the forest with a suggestive swish of her hips. Once in the shadows, she spotted Jasper and leveled him with a warning glare.

O'Donnell gulped loudly, unable to contain his nerves as his hands began to shake. He shifted a quick glance to the others sitting around the fire all of whom looked expectant. He nodded, trying to reign in those nerves and reassure himself. Wide eyes traveled back to Lucy's sashaying form disappearing into the trees and he followed, trepidation in his steps.

Jasper stiffened as Lucy walked into sight with the first victim. O'Donnell. His fingers dug into the bark of the tree, splintering it beneath them. Wide, pained eyes locked onto Lucy's warning as another flare of flames licked down his throat.

Maria grabbed Horace by his shirt and pulled him into the trees with a devilish smile, wasting no time in backing him up against one and pressing herself against him as one nimble hand traveled down to his belt buckle. "This will be a night that you will never forget..."

The eager glint in his eyes sparked as she backed him against a tree and suggestively pressed herself to him. "Ooh, yeah," he mused, his lips curved up into an excited smile as she began working the buckle on his pants.

Horace was so preoccupied with Maria's hand working loose his belt that he didn't notice when her other hand grasped the knife strapped to her thigh. In one swift motion she slipped it between his ribs, piercing his lung, before she whirled in a blur of movement to stab O'Donnell in the same place, her eyes sparking with hunger and malice.

The excitement on Horace's face turned to shock as his eyes widened from the pain. Shock followed by burning flooded through him from where the knife had pierced him. He dropped to his knees like a bag of bricks, any screams for help cut off by the gurgle of blood bubbling up his throat and out of the corners of his mouth. O'Donnell was soon to follow suit in dropping to the ground. Burning, followed by weakness from blood loss consumed him, his screams also cut off by the blood choking his throat.

Hunger sparked in Jasper's eyes, glowing violent and red in the darkness as the blood flowed and filled the night air with a scent so appetizing his mouth flooded with venom. He dug his fingers further still into the bark, trying desperately to keep himself anchored into place.

Lucy's thirst flared at the scent of their blood but she quickly pulled herself together, her eyes flashing to Jasper nearby. "Hold your breath," she cautioned.

Following Lucy's advice he held his breath but even that didn't quell the temptation. Blood stained his mind, filling it with every dark scenario he could think of and fueling his desire to have their blood.

"There," Maria said, sliding the knife back into its sheath and admiring her handiwork. "They won't be able to scream with punctured lungs." She knelt next to O'Donnell first, trailing her fingers gently over his agonized face. "This is really going to hurt," she hissed, enjoying every second of his terror. It was almost as delicious as the taste of his blood as she sank her teeth into his neck with a groan near ecstasy.

O'Donnell's mouth worked uselessly as he tried to yell for help. Nothing came out, only another fresh gush of blood as he coughed it up, trying desperately to rid himself of it. A new wave of burning went through him as Maria's teeth cut into his neck.

Standing she made her way to where Horace writhed in pain. She kicked him onto his back before she straddled him, leaning forward to brush his lips with hers. "I believe Lucy told you that her fee was a bit of bread but I'm afraid I require much more..." She flashed him a terrifying smile, her venom coated teeth glistening in the moonlight. "I want your soul."

She wrenched his neck to the side, piercing his flesh with her teeth and enjoying one sweet mouthful of his blood before she forced herself to let go with a wild gasp and let the transformation begin. She stood, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes glowing a horrific red as she turned them on Lucy and then Jasper. "Let's get them back before someone comes looking."

As he watched the scene unfold in front of him, Jasper found himself locked in place and unable to move for fear that he would lose control. Deep cuts were carved into the bark where his fingers now held firm. He didn't breathe, only shook his head in protest. Worry stung his eyes and penetrated through the pain. He didn't trust himself enough to find the strength to let go of his strong hold on the tree.

Maria eyed Jasper warily. She had already assessed the hunger in his eyes and judged him to be useless in helping to carry the two men back. Reaching down she grabbed one of Horace's arms and slung him over her shoulder while Lucy easily did the same with O'Donnell.

"Jasper!" Maria whispered harshly. "Get a hold of yourself! Run ahead of us so the humans stay downwind," Maria ordered. "By the time we reach the barn their scents will be dramatically different and you won't want them anymore."

Jasper reluctantly released his grip on the tree as his eyes roved across Maria, Lucy and the humans who were bleeding out over the ground. His mouth pooled with another flood of venom at the very thought of sinking his teeth into them and relishing in the sweet, warm liquid. He shook his head to push away the dark thoughts threatening to take over and took off running, ghosting past Maria and Lucy in a blur. He didn't chance taking a breath until he was far out of range, not wanting to rethink his decision and turn back to claim them. Once out of sight, he drew in a breath of the dry night air, trying to cleanse his body and mind of the sweet, delicious scents laden heavily in the air.

Somehow he wondered if he ever would…


	5. Dark Desires

Dark Desires

Jasper's eyes, wiped clean of any emotion, surveyed the battle field. The war waging around him was a cacophony of screams and sounds of bodies being torn apart like the screeching of metal, all of which was underscored by the sickeningly sweet smell of the smoke rising from the fires dotting the field. One year had passed since his creation, and no longer did his lingering human emotions bother him. He'd given in to it long ago, deciding not to fight his new nature and instead embrace it.

More scars had joined the two he'd received in his first few days, a few dotting his neck, a few on his arms. War had become a way of life, a way to ensure survival and he wore his battle scars proudly. Victory was within their grasp and tonight they would claim the territory for which they were fighting and expand their own territory to cover it as they had with so many others. And with the impending victory, there would be blood…

Maria's arms snaked around Jasper's neck, her fingers twining into his hair and turning his face to hers. She looked deeply into his eyes, the blood red depths of her own burning into his a moment before she leaned in to claim his lips with a fiercely passionate kiss.

Blood red eyes met her own, frenzied by war. He held her gaze for a fraction of a second before their lips came together, with a hard edge of hunger, passion and desire.

She broke away to press her mouth to his ear. "It's all ours, Jasper. Yours and mine," she whispered. She nipped at his earlobe as a shiver of pleasure danced through her. "Tonight we celebrate. Let the others have one or two. You and I…we're going to wipe out entire families."

His lips parted from hers with a wild gasp, a feeling of want radiating throughout his body and rattling his frame. "Ours," he breathed. Her poisonous words were as sweet as the taste of fresh blood and his lips twisted into a cruel smile at the prospect of feeding. "We shall celebrate and the world will weep," he mused, tilting his head in her direction to reclaim her lips with an unsatisfied hunger.

Maria devoured Jasper's lips with a predatory growl, pressing herself up against him as she tangled her fingers in his hair. The sounds of battle and death rising up into the air around her were like music, a twisted and macabre symphony of violence and greed that the two of them had written together.

Jasper's chest rumbled with a guttural growl that began to work its way up his throat. His arms wound around her, pulling her close. One hand splayed across her back while the other snaked up her spine to knot into the raven black depths of her hair. Hunger and passion controlled his lips, worked them in such a driven fashion that he felt himself giving over to her and to the song of war playing out behind them.

She pulled back to look at him with a satisfied smile. He was by far her most prized possession. She could hardly believe that a year ago she had contemplated his destruction. He had been so willful, so infuriatingly disobedient. That was until he had surrendered to his new nature. He had taken longer than most to give in to the blood lust but once he had she had discovered in him a vampire with a thirst for power and conquest almost as insatiable as her own. Gone from his face was any trace of the southern gentleman he had been. Left in that man's place was a vampire, a creature completely consumed by instinct and the dark desire to feed and consume. It pleased her immensely.

He broke away with a wild gasp, searching her expression with deep crimson eyes as she examined his own. She was glowing with pride and sheer excitement, so much so that he felt compelled to recapture her lips. Giving into his nature had been easy and with it had come peace of mind. No longer was he conflicted, no longer did the images of war haunt him each time he fed. Now he embraced the bloodshed and with his new found power came a thirst for more.

She turned her head to scan the battlefield, watching with sadistic pleasure as her army of newborns gathered up what was left of the now destroyed opposition and threw their dismembered bodies into the fires to burn.

He unwound an arm from around her and lifted his hand to stroke his finger tips against her cheek. His eyes turned with hers, casting across the battle field. Pyres burned brightly, and deep purple smoke choked out the sky, consuming it.

"Soon our lands will extend across all of Mexico and Texas. We'll be the largest and the most feared of any of the covens and we will have more blood than we could ever drink," Maria purred. "But with great power will come great adversity. We will be challenged constantly and we must be ready. _You_ must be ready, Jasper."

"I know." Jasper's head inclined toward her. "But don't fret love. We'll simply create more newborns and keep those that are worthy of living. Our army will be so large that nobody will dare to challenge us," he reassured her and smiled coldly. "I know what I'm doing. Have we not won every battle we've sought to win? Have we not conquered even the strongest of our enemies?"

"We have," she agreed, power drunk to think of all their recent conquests. She reached up a hand to caress his cheek, cupping it over the stern set of his jaw. "Our territory is expanding rapidly."

His eyes fluttered closed to the sensual touch of her finger tips against his cheek, then her hand curling to conform to his jaw. Raw excitement spiked his muscles and body, a pull to her that he'd so far managed to resist. "It is," he whispered and locked his jaw in place, trying to blot out the feelings she'd been inspiring in him as of late. "The more blood, the stronger we'll be and the more newborns we can create. We'll have better stock to choose from, as well." he explained.

"It's almost more than we can control, just you and me. What do you think about putting Lucy and Nettie in charge of managing the more distant edges of our land? Do you sense deception in them?"

Nettie and Lucy were becoming a problem. It was becoming clear that they were planning something. Jasper's eyes swept over the battlefield, landing on the females in question. "I think it would be wise to keep an eye on them," he said rather cryptically but he didn't divulge anything further.

Maria's eyes followed Jasper's to where Nettie and Lucy stood and leaned in to press her lips to his ear. "Perhaps this could serve as a test...find out where their loyalties lie. I think they'd be the most capable of controlling a small band of newborns." Unable to resist, she let her tongue dart out to swirl along the inside of his ear. "Men, be they vampire or mortal, are easily controlled with the right...motivation."

A cold shiver slithered up his spine in response to Maria's tactics of control. Resisting was futile and completely pointless because one way or another she always pulled the strings that got him to do as she wanted. "Perhaps," Jasper whispered in dead pan response, his eyes taking on a vacant sheen. "It would help to spread out."

"Lucy and Nettie can round them up, scan the new territory for any pockets of resistance. Let's hunt, Jasper." She placed her lips against his ear, her breath lightly grazing his alabaster skin. "Afterwards we can search for new recruits."

He nodded mutely, eyes fixed on the mayhem. The only thing visible that could link him to his human life in the Civil War was his officer's jacket which Maria wore. "Let's," he said, flickering the faintest of smiles.

"Go and give your orders," she said, nodding toward the others. "The east driven wind is heavy with the scent of blood. Hurry. I find myself growing impatient."

Jasper's eyes moved across the battle field until they landed on Lucy and Nettie. "Lucy! Nettie! Take the others, look for stragglers!" He waved them off, without even waiting for an answer. He expected them to do it. Grabbing Maria's hand, he sprinted off across the meadow.

Lucy immediately moved to do as Jasper had ordered. She had learned long ago that to defy him was to risk death. Truly, he was sometimes more terrifying than Maria.

She cast a look over her shoulder at Nettie, who was staring after Jasper and Maria, fists clenched and unmoving. "You take half and I'll take the other. Let's be quick about it," Lucy hissed. "I've no interest in reattaching any appendages later and unlike you, I've yet to lose my head. I prefer to keep it that way."

Nettie's eyes narrowed as Jasper and Maria disappeared into the distance. "Don't you grow tired of taking orders, Lucy? Don't you ever wish for something more than this?" She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her contemptuous gaze toward her. "Aren't you tired of living in fear of him? Of her?"

"I know my place, Nettie. I'd hate to see you be reminded of yours." Lucy motioned for her to follow and Nettie did so, reluctantly following her as she walked across the clearing. "Those are dangerous thoughts. Thoughts that could get us both killed. Just do as he says. Things could be far worse."

Nettie sniffed in disdain. "Things could always be worse. But they could also be much better."

"Enough of this talk. Take your half," Lucy said firmly. "Sweep the perimeter to the north, kill any that fled. I'll take the south." She eyed the snarling swarm of newborns, mentally dividing them up into two groups before she found the one she instinctively sought above all others. "Daniel is with me."

The ground flew underneath Maria's feet as she ran with grace across the countryside. Her eyes turned to take in the flat farmland, stretching as far as she could see in every direction until it faded into where earth met night time sky. _Mine_, she thought and her eyes glinted with satisfaction. The feel of her hand in Jasper's drew her attention back to his face. The deep red of his eyes was predatory, calculating...the perfect complement to her in every way, his features as beautiful as those of a statue carved from the finest marble under the moonlight.

_Mine as well... _

A seductive smile curved her lips. She had conquered more land than she had ever thought possible, had acquired an army larger than any she could have imagined and yet this, this newborn, was the one thing she had yet to lay claim to. She had sampled all the others, found some to be pleasing, others lacking, but not this one... Not yet.

It was a little game they played, one that, for all its underlying frustration, she rather enjoyed. When she grew tired of playing, however, he would know it. Subtlety was not something at which she excelled.

The night breeze carried to them, the scents of what they desired most. Blood. It frenzied Jasper's senses and heightened the emotions exuding from Maria. Lust and desire were both prominent though whether it was for him or for the blood he couldn't tell. His deeply pitched, gleaming red eyes turned in her direction. They were predatory and danced with anticipation. His lips stretched at the corner of his mouth and dimpled his cheek into a slightly crazed lopsided smile. The sight of her, so porcelain and lithe in the moonlight was almost as irresistible as the prospect of feeding. His eyes roved over her only briefly before his gaze turned straight ahead. Squeezing her hand he surged forward in a sudden burst of speed. A sudden demonic rush of excitement flooded through him and made it that much more important that they feed before he lost his ability to resist her.

Maria easily kept pace with Jasper, her smile widening to realize how deeply she affected him. How many more caresses, how many more heated kisses before he gave in and succumbed to her? Her skin tingled in anticipation. Perhaps tonight, after their greatest victory to date, she would finally take from him what she desired. The others she had ordered into her bed and they all been all too willing to oblige. Such tactics hadn't worked with him. She had killed past newborns for less and yet she needed Jasper. If it weren't for his gift to control emotions her amusement at the situation would have easily turned to murderous anger.

The scent of blood washed over her like a tidal wave and for a moment hunger overtook her lust. Her eyes narrowed as her mouth flooded with venom, her love of violence and her thirst for inspiring terror in her victims the moment before the light left their eyes temporarily winning out over her plans for her as of yet untouched protégé.

An orange light burned in the distance across the expanse of grassland that the forest had given way to, cutting through the darkness as a beacon of hope and of promise for sustenance. Faint echoes of hearts beat together in a rhythm like music. Smoke drifted into to mingle with the scent of blood and liquor, laughter echoed on the wind. "I think we've stumbled on a party," Jasper mused. His lips curled into a cold smile.

"A party? How quaint. And here I am, in the mood for celebrating." A wicked giggle escaped her, more terrifying than endearing, as her eyes focused on the orange glow, evil dancing in them to match the flames of the distant fire. "Shall we join them, love?"

The hungry spark in his eyes intensified. So many delicious scents. Venom flooded his mouth. "We shall." Excitement gleamed in his eyes, the irresistible prospect of quenching his thirst almost too much to bear. Without further warning, he took off in a sprint across the field. The growing light of the fire became more than just a beacon in the distance, a dot in the darkness. Its flames materialized into view, individual fingers licking toward the sky.

Maria flew after Jasper, coming to take her place by his side as they neared the sound and scent of humans, each of them delectable and so thick in the air she could almost taste them on her tongue. The humor that had sparkled in her eyes a moment before at the prospect of the killing to come was now replaced with the utter need for it. Her features were no longer curved into overtures of seduction but instead had taken on the hard lines of a predator, her expression cold and calculating.

The scene laid out before Jasper's eyes was enticing. Two males sat on the porch of the small house sitting several feet from the fire, banjos going in unison together as others danced together merrily. Children, women, men of all ages. The fire held some old folks passing around a bottle, swapping stories and a pipe.

"Perfect," Jasper purred. He slunk into a crouch in the shadows, just outside of the light the fire cast. They were so close, yet so unaware of the danger lurking just beyond the shadows.

Maria inhaled deeply, perched at Jasper's side like a lioness in tall grass, waiting to pounce. Her eyes shifted over each and every human, lingering for a few seconds longer on the two girls dancing near the flames, their white dresses billowing out around them as they twirled, their long hair caught in the movement and streaming behind them. One blonde, one with hair as dark as her own...they smelled like warm apple pie and innocence, nearly irresistible. And yet... She tilted her head to the side, an idea forming in her mind.

"Those two," she said, indicating them by the way her gaze never left them as she spoke. "Spare them and leave them for me."

Jasper's lips curved into a cold, predatory smile. He nodded once sharply as his calculating eyes swept across the prospective victims to land on a young woman. Dark brown, shoulder length hair cascaded in loose curls around her shoulders. "Her," he breathed and focused. Target picked, he glanced once at Maria and slipped around the edge of the shadows to get within striking range.

Maria circled around to the other side and crouched in the darkness, her eyes finding Jasper's through the dancing bodies between them. With a slight nod in his direction, her muscles coiled in preparation to spring.

He leapt from the shadows and pounced on her, ripping her away from the male she was dancing with. One hand knotted into her hair to snap her head to the side while his other arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. Screaming erupted around the fire and panic ensued. Jasper's teeth slammed into her neck and the sweetness of her blood flooded his mouth to quench his undying thirst. Draining the last few drops from her, he left her to drop to the ground and blurred after a fleeing man. One hand caught him around the back of the neck and ripped him backward into Jasper's arms.

Maria launched herself forward in a blur, biting two men and a woman to keep them from running as she flew toward a young man, pulling him into her arms before he even had a chance to scream. Her teeth sunk into the musky scented skin of his neck and she groaned in unadulterated pleasure as his blood flowed into her mouth, down the parched roughness of her throat and filled her from within, bringing warmth and life. In a matter of seconds he was cold and limp in her grasp and she flung him aside, greedy eyes searching for her next victim.

Maria's attention was drawn to the movement of a fleeing woman, her instinct to give chase so strong that before she could even make a conscious decision she was leaping over the writhing humans on the ground that she had bitten to run the woman down. Sweeping the woman into her embrace she tore out her throat with one swift slice of her teeth and fixed her mouth over the delicious spray of blood, her eyes now a luminous red glowing in the dim light.

Maria let the drained woman's corpse fall from her hands with a sickening thud as she whirled around and collapsed on one of the men whom she had bitten. His agonized screams from the venom coursing through him died along with the light in his eyes as she fed from him and when his body grew still she flashed a hand out to the other man and pulled him across the ground to her waiting lips.

The last drops of the man's blood drained out leaving Jasper with a feeling of emptiness, shallow and faint. He wanted more and he'd have it. The human male dropped limply from his arms with a sickening thud and was almost immediately forgotten as Jasper took off for another victim. The wide spread panic was almost like an epidemic. Emotions were high. Fear hung thick in the air; beautiful and intoxicating. It fueled him. It heightened his senses and brought with it a high, not even a drug could give.

Power steered his course and an insatiable appetite for blood drove him forward. A human girl, about twenty years of age, raced for her life but she didn't get far. In a blur of movement, Jasper's hand was knotted into her hair. His other arm anchored around her and pulled her to him, his teeth burying into the soft flesh of her neck.

Maria straightened and sniffed the air, the three humans she had bitten to prevent their escape now drained at her feet. The scent of the two girls she had singled out drifted on the breeze, giving away the direction in which they had fled. Only now did she feel satiated enough to carry out her plan. They would be the first, others would follow, and their next campaign for territory would be a much easier victory because of it.

"Jasper!" she called over her shoulder before sprinting across the field in pursuit of those delicious scents.

Jasper's head snapped up the moment she yelled his name. He dropped the now drained corpse from his arms and took off in a blur after her. The ground flew beneath his feet and the world around him faded into streaky blurs of green and brown hues. The scents of the young girls wove together on the breeze though their attempted escape would be futile. Maria would catch them. Once he caught up, he blurred along beside her.

It wasn't long before Maria's acute vision caught sight of the girls, their dresses billowing out behind them, their hair streaming in the wind. The smell of apple pie and vanilla and innocence was now tainted by fear and sweat, their breath coming in hard gasps as they stumbled along, too afraid to effectively put one foot in front of the other. Even running at half the speed of which she was capable, Maria easily snagged them both by the hair, bringing them crashing down to the ground at her feet.

"Stay back," she hissed at Jasper, not yet trusting him to exercise complete control in the heat of the moment.

Jasper clenched his teeth together and spat out a hiss, but relented and reluctantly backed off from the prizes in her grasp.

The girls screamed and cried and begged, their pitiful state only heightening Maria's sadistic pleasure at what she was about to do.

Grabbing the blonde one by the throat she drew her up until her little feet were kicking uselessly in the air beneath her. Maria's leveled her gaze into the girl's blue ones, a cruel smile quirking her lips and causing her to look like a demon in the moonlight.

"Sshhhhhh..." she cooed, tilting her head to the side to study the overwhelming terror on her victim's face. "I'm not going to kill you."

In a flash, Maria's teeth were at the girl's neck, cutting through her pale skin and staining it with streams of blood. She threw her bodily to the ground where she shrieked and writhed in agony.

"You're only going to wish I had."

The dark haired girl crawled backwards across the ground, her eyes fixed on Maria in horror as she tried in vain to escape. Before she could cry out, Maria had her in her grasp, cutting off her rising scream with her teeth clamping across her windpipe and stealing her mortal soul.

Jasper paced back and forth like a restless caged animal. The smell of their blood was almost too much to bear. His throat burned raw from temptation as if he'd not even fed moments earlier. An animalistic growl escaped his throat as his eyes were focused on the children, their deep pitch penetrating and sharp.

"Leave them!" Maria ordered. "I have plans for them...and for others like them."

Jasper's eyes hardened into a glare in her direction, but he kept his distance, like he'd been instructed. Once the venom had begun to take effect he found the pull lessening and easier to cope with. Now as he pulled out of his enthrallment and focused on the scene for what seemed like the first time he felt a tinge of horror plant deep within him but it faded just as quickly as it had come.

The blonde girl lay on her back, her head turned in Jasper's direction, eyes wide, her screams tortured. One hand stretched out in his direction, begging for death, begging for an end. Anything, anything but the burning that coursed through her veins like liquid fire, each beat of her heart a searing agony almost too unbearable for her brain to process.

"Please..." she gasped. "Please please please..."

Conflict cut through Jasper's eyes. There was just something about the way the small child twisted and writhed in agony. The way she looked at him and reached out to him for help made him feel helpless. It pulled pity from him as her fear for the first time since the beginning of the hunt reached out to him, saturating his skin and sinking into his bones. His eyes held silent apologies as he took a step back and out of her reach.

Maria watched the sympathy flicker over Jasper's features with disgust. Marching over to him she grabbed his arms and shook him.

Maria's forceful shake rattled his frame and brought him into awareness of her presence but he couldn't take his eyes off of the girl. The child's tortured eyes burned into his, hypnotic and a mirror image of what he must have looked like when he'd been turned. The same fire that now burned in the child had burned through him. The same pain he'd felt now reflected back to him through the eyes and emotions of this little girl. She was so young. It just didn't seem fair that she should be damned to this, to the life that Maria had forced him into. The longer his gaze held hers the deeper her emotions stabbed him, each one becoming more difficult to bear.

"Focus! It's just your gift manipulating you. They're nothing, disposable... Fodder for our war." She reached up to caress his face, trying to get him to look at her instead of the child.

Her sharp words commanded his attention. The invisible strings she pulled yanked violently against his body, willing him into submission. The tenderness of her touch was a stark contrast to the emphasis placed in her words. Her power over him was strong but she'd yet to claim the last thing from him that would put him completely under her control. Day by day he'd felt his resolve ebbing away. Day by day he'd found his own control lessening to hers.

The girl's eyes remained fixed on Jasper, boring into his own, their color a blue that could have been described as serene were they not filled with torment and pain.

Unable to look at her any longer, his eyes cut away from hers. Even if he could escape her eyes and her pleas he couldn't escape the heart wrenching terror radiating off her nor could he escape the pain wracking her tiny frame. Each wave of emotion became a stab through his body, searing and repulsive. Maria held the leash that kept him from running or else he may've actually taken off. His feet were cemented to the ground where he stood as his eyes remained averted from the children.

"We have to get them back," she announced, stooping down and sweeping the dark haired girl up into arms in one fluid movement. The girl kicked and screamed in Maria's grasp but she easily held her still, immune to her suffering and her cries.

Maria had chosen to leave the blonde child to him. Strategy? Or pure accident? It was hard to say but more than likely there was a method behind it. Punishment for his weakness perhaps? His gaze unwillingly traveled to the pale blue eyes of the little girl, once again meeting her tortured gaze. Another spasm ripped through him as he reluctantly bent down and scooped her up off the ground.

The girl's long blonde hair spilled over Jasper's arm, her head lolling against his chest as the spread of the venom immobilized her. And still her blue eyes, suspended in a moment of disbelief and unspeakable pain, stared up unblinking into Jasper's face.

His eyes stayed transfixed on hers. No matter how much he wanted to make himself look away he couldn't bring himself to do it. Her eyes burned into his with an unbelievable intensity, going straight to the core of his very being.

She couldn't decide what had been worse: screaming and kicking against the pain or being able to do neither but just burn, silent and paralyzed as the flames scorched her to a cinder. The only movement of which she was aware was the gasping breaths she managed to drag in and out of her lungs in rapid succession and the racing beat of her heart as it galloped wildly, slamming against her fragile ribs.

Sprinting in the direction of the old abandoned farm, Maria was plotting, her satisfaction at the plan forming in her mind growing exponentially. They had only to secure a few more, perhaps even younger than these two, and the next coven would be easily defeated.

The Volturi had outlawed the creation of immortal children. But no one would be left alive on the opposing side to report it.

He followed her lead, a vacant shell of conflicting emotions. Were they his dead emotions returning after a year of absence, disconnected from who he had been and who he was now? Or were they simply the child's emotions reflecting back on him? Whatever the reason, he couldn't shake the cold feeling they gave him throughout his body. He couldn't escape the feeling of wanting to bolt, of wanting to drop the child and run. But he couldn't. His feet had no will of their own anymore, no freedom to their steps. They were controlled by her, by the woman he fought for, a woman he was certain that he was falling in love with. Such strong feelings toward her couldn't be described as anything else could they?

The barn was quickly reached running at top speed and Maria wasted no time in dumping the child she carried to the dusty floor. The girl landed in a broken sprawl, in too much pain to even cry out or attempt to break her fall. Nettie and Lucy had successfully swept the newly acquired territory and the newborns were filtering inside, their thirsts sparking slightly at the smell of human blood even mixed as it was with the acidic scent of venom as it burned away all that was mortal in the two young girls. Still, Maria was not about to lose them until they had fulfilled their purpose.

Nettie was the first through the door and she immediately sensed the presence of the two humans, her eyes quickly finding the one crumpled at Maria's feet and the one lying limp in Jasper's arms. Her lip pulled up in an uneven sneer.

His arms tightened around the child when Nettie's predatory and calculating gaze turned in his direction. Something reminiscent of protection toward the girl cause him to spit out a defensive hiss through tightly clenched teeth, lips curled back to expose them for emphasis.

Lucy entered the barn and quickly pressed herself against the wall just inside the door to see Jasper looking so vicious. It took a moment for her to collect herself and realize what it was he was holding in his arms. A small child, female. While she was not as horrified as she would have been had it been a young boy, she still found herself in shock. The girl couldn't have been any more than 12 or 13 and the scent of venom staining her blood was obvious. Her mistrustful eyes shifted to Maria and the other young girl lying at her feet. Surely she was behind this.

"What is this?" The disgust in Nettie's voice was evident as she strolled over, poking the girl on the ground with the tip of her shoe. "Maria?"

Maria's eyes narrowed as she eyed the girl in Jasper's arms, took in the way he stared at her, his expression lost somewhere between pity and horror. "They're not to be touched. Keep the newborns away from them while the change happens. I plan on making more but the ones I do make I need to survive. Jasper will explain things later, when it's time."

Though he could feel Maria's eyes burning into him he didn't take his eyes off the child, safe for the moment in his protective embrace. Her terrorized eyes, glazed over by the paralyzing pain, burned back into his. Maria's words were nothing but a hum in the background, insignificant and tuned out. He didn't even bother to look up at her when she mentioned his name. His only response was a slight inclination of his head.

Striding toward the door, she cast a glare over her shoulder where Jasper still stood, pitifully cradling the blonde child in his arms. "Leave it," she commanded. "We have much to discuss."

Jasper's eyes pulled away reluctantly from the child but he obeyed and lowered the little girl's body to the ground, taking a tentative step back from her. His eyes went to Nettie. "Should anything happen, I'll hold you personally responsible," he warned then turned on his heel and joined Maria.

Nettie said nothing but fixed Jasper with a contemptuous glare. Lucy shrank back against the wall as Maria passed, her eyes questioning as they found Jasper's. Knowing he could sense her emotions she allowed her concern and worry to filter out into the space between them, a silent question that she hoped he would answer. The changing of children made no sense to her. In fact it was strictly outlawed. Everyone knew the stories, of the slaughter that had resulted from such practices.

Jasper returned Nettie's glare as he stalked by her. When his eyes landed on Lucy they became sympathetic. Her worries and concerns were well founded and they were almost certainly over the children. He'd been no more in control of the situation than anyone else. Maria did what she wanted and you either played nice, or got hurt. He gave a slight inclination of his head as he soaked in her emotions, his feet frozen to the dirt flooring of the barn. His eyes dropped from hers to the ground at his feet. "There was nothing I could do." Defeat rang deep in his tone.

Lucy pressed her lips into a tight line and cast her gaze towards Maria's retreating form. "Go," she whispered.

Maria swept out of the barn, never breaking stride as she entered the old farmhouse and climbed the stairs. She didn't once look behind her to see if Jasper would follow. She knew he would. He had yet to disobey an order but his pity towards the children disturbed her. He had killed for her and for his own thirst so often in the past year and he had never once shown a moment's remorse. She wondered if he might be losing his nerve and her lips turned down in a scowl. What she was about to ask of him would prove where his loyalties were.

Without another word or further acknowledgement of Lucy he took his leave and followed Maria out of the barn. There was an agenda behind her footsteps, a tenor to her mood that he faintly picked up. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he followed her into the house then proceeded after her up the stairs. There was something that she wanted though he couldn't figure out what it was.

She threw open the door to the bedroom she had claimed as her private sanctuary and once inside, turned to face him. It was the first time she had ever brought him there and the presence of the bed, taking up most of the room with its silk and satin drapes of fabric, was not lost on her.

Jasper stopped short when she threw open the bedroom door. Standing frozen in the door way, his eyes flew to the bed and he swallowed nervously. "What is this?" he asked, shifting his eyes back to her. The question had an obvious answer but he couldn't stop it from coming out.

"What does it look like?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. She couldn't help the slight smile playing about her lips as she studied his discomfort.

"A bedroom," he pointed out nervously. His eyes shifted from her to the bed then back to her. She'd never invited him up here before. The significance of her doing so was not lost on him.

"It is a room. One I just happen to have taken as my own. The house has others if you would like one for yourself. Unless that is, you would prefer the barn so as to stay amongst those you command." She ran a hand over the array of lush rumpled fabrics strewn across the bed. "Or you could always stay here...with me."

"With you?" he questioned, tilting his head slightly.

"If you wish," she replied. "I think you would find my company more...enjoyable than that of the newborns. Though I can't promise to be any better behaved." She flashed him a coy smile that bordered on devilish.

He looked down with a sheepish smile. "Is that so?" he asked softly, lifting his eyes back to her.

"How old are you now, Jasper?" she asked, pacing a lazy circle around him. Her eyes were slightly narrowed as she asked the question. She knew exactly how old he was. Her vampire mind was flawlessly accurate. She could even recall the exact look of terror frozen on his face after she had tasted him.

"A month shy of a year." Jasper replied. He tilted his head slightly in confusion, wondering if perhaps she'd lost her mind. "You know how old I am, don't you?"

She simply smiled in response, trailing her fingers along his shoulders as she moved past him and went to stand at the window. He watched her move past him but he stayed perfectly still. His feet felt like they were frozen to the ground.

Maria gazed out at the barn and listened to the usual snarling and fighting from within. "Rarely do any of my newborns live past their first year. Well…you know my policies. You've been enforcing them."

He nodded once, sharply. "I have," he assured her.

She turned to face him and gave him a sly smile before tapping a finger thoughtfully against her lips. "Just shy of a year old…"

There was something about the way she watched him, glittering calculation in her eyes. "Yes, I am." He nodded slowly, regarding her with curiosity. "Why?"

She shrugged. "No reason." She didn't need to say more. The danger he faced was implied.

He realized what she was talking about her and his eyes widened in fear.

"Jasper..." She closed the distance between them and ran her hand down his shirtfront, purring to feel the lean muscles of his chest. "Is everything alright?"

Powerful feelings of lust surrounded her and seeped out into the space between them. The softness in her voice and the slow trailing of her fingertips down his chest sent a shiver of both nervousness and want through him. His eyes drifted up from the hand she had on his chest to her eyes. "Everything's fine," he lied smoothly. One foot inched backward toward the door.

"You act as though you are afraid of me." Her arms snaked around his neck, her hands sifting through his blond curls until they fastened around the back of his head and drew his face down to hers.

"No, it's just that-" His words trailed off into a hushed silence as she slipped her arms around his neck in an intimate manner. His eyes shifted furtively to the massive bed. It symbolized something significant. He'd known it the moment he laid eyes on it.

"Am I really so terrifying?" She gently brushed her lips across his, a soft sigh escaping her before she pulled away to fix him with a look of assumed innocence, her dark and dangerous nature just beneath the surface of her guileless expression.

"No," he whispered softly, trailing his eyes back to hers. The brush of her lips against his sent a tantalizing shiver through his body. Any fear he had disappeared and feelings of lust and want took its place. No matter what Maria did his feelings for her always got in the way. In that silent moment his lips bent to hers to capture them.

Maria moaned against his lips, hitching up one leg to twine it around his thigh while her fingers, once gentle, fisted in his hair with raw desire. Her kiss was savage, hungry for the ultimate surrender she craved. The longing he clearly felt for her now was delicious and irresistible. The time for games had past. He was hers and she would possess all of him, mind, body and soul.

A spike of pleasure shot through him, tingling on the surface of his skin. Desire, want, need…they all coursed through him in a lethal concoction. He ached for her, yearned for her, and his body spasmed when she slung her leg up around his thigh. "I want you," he moaned softly, breaking the kiss for just a fraction of a second. His lips moved against hers, letting the passion rising between them guide his kiss.

"Do you love me, Jasper?" she gasped against his lips as she raked her nails down his back, pressing herself against him with shameless need.

"Yes," he murmured in a short breath between the meeting of their lips. "I love you." He was certain that he did. What else could they mean, the feelings that he had for her? The need causing him to tremble under her touch?

She backed him towards the bed. When it hit the back of his legs she pushed him onto it. "Then you'll do what is needed to protect us? To protect what we have here?"

The moment Jasper's back hit the mattress, anxiety ripped through him. "Yes," his voice squeaked out as he swallowed nervously.

"I knew I could trust you," she purred as she climbed up onto the bed, straddling him. She lowered her herself over him, her lips a scant breath from his as she ran her hands over him possessively. "The next coven we challenge is the largest one yet. But I have come up with a surprise for them that they won't be expecting; a surprise that I think will appeal to your militaristic mind."

His eyes remained fixed up at her, questioning, confused. Another shot of anxiety and fear flared up within him when she climbed on top of him. His eyes went wide with surprise and whatever question that had been hovering there in his gaze disappeared. Panic swept through his body and he floundered to pull himself to a sitting position. "What kind of surprise?"

Maria gently but firmly pinned his shoulders to the bed. "Immortal children. Outlawed by the Volturi their very existence strikes fear into the hearts of all our kind." She skimmed the tip of her nose across his jaw line, her lips flowering against the sensitive skin of his neck. "Imagine a frontline of nothing but such creatures, bloodthirsty and unbelievably strong just after the change. The opposing coven will be confused, disoriented. And even if their newborns make quick work of the children, they'll be distracted just long enough for your soldiers to rip them to pieces."

Before he could even fully sit up, he was quickly immobilized. She'd pinned his shoulders firmly in place as her admission caused his eyes to widen in pure shock. "What?" His mouth dropped open and for a moment words were lost to him. She couldn't be serious, but she was. "If they come, we'll all be killed! No, we can't. It's suicide."

Maria lifted herself up onto the palms of her hands and stared down into Jasper's face. "Only if the Volturi find out which they won't. Everyone in the opposing coven will be dead when the battle is over and Nettie and Lucy are the only ones amongst our own that know of the Volturi's law against such creations. They will fear their own deaths at the Volturi's hands too much to breathe a word." She reached up to caress his cheek and placed a feather light kiss to his lips. "Besides there won't be any evidence to convict us. All the children will be dead. What our enemies don't kill, you will have to destroy."

Jasper's eyes widened in shock. He didn't speak, just swallowed another sickening feeling of fear. Maria would make him kill the children. There was no doubt about that. She made him kill often. Wars were fought and won and newborns were destroyed. It was part of this life, this existence. But the killing of children? He couldn't… But he wouldn't have a choice. A resigned sigh escaped his lips as her feather light touch quickly took his mind off of the situation. It sent a flutter through him that had nothing to do with fear for his life. The sweetness of her lips so close to his own was irresistible.

"You will do this thing for me?" she asked, her eyes earnest as they met his.

"Yes," he replied softly, his gaze fixed on hers.

With a sly smile she lowered her mouth to his chest and bit the top button off his shirt. "There is so much I could offer you, Jasper. So much I could give you if you will only take your place by my side."

His bottom lip caught between his teeth when she popped off the first button. Terror gripped him as his eyes drifted away from her and fixed on the ceiling above him. "Take my place at your side?" he asked, swallowing. "Like a mate?"

Maria's mouth paused momentarily in her task of removing Jasper's buttons, her lips turning down in a scowl at the mention of the word mate. It implied that they would belong to each other equally and that was not what she was offering. She had long ago sworn she would never again belong to any man.

Still, if a lie was what it took to secure his cooperation and obedience, she was not above it. She hastily bit off his last button and pressed her lips against the skin of his abdomen so that he didn't see her disgust. "Like a mate," she breathed, tracing her tongue up his chest and along his throat as she smoothed his shirt away from his shoulders. "I love you, Jasper. Let me show you…"

A breath hissed in sharply when she pressed her lips against his exposed skin. If his heart could have beat it would have been pounding violently. He swallowed hard. "S-show me?" he asked softly, as she stripped his shirt from his shoulders.

She raised up onto her knees, still straddled across him, and slowly removed his officer's jacket which she had claimed as her own, letting it drop to the floor and leaving her in nothing but a loosely strung corset and skirts.

For the first time since she'd pinned him onto the bed he lifted his hands and slid them up the curve of her hips to her waist. The stiff fabric of her corset under his fingertips made him ache, his muscles clenching with an undeniable feeling of want.

Maria smiled and reached down to take his hands in hers, raising them to her frontward facing corset strings and coaxing his fingers with her own to take hold of the laces. Moving his hands in concert with hers, she drew them from the grommets in a slow, languid motion until finally the corset was completely unfastened. Once again manipulating his hands she peeled it away, watching his expression with obvious pleasure as she tossed it over her shoulder.

Jasper watched with a mixture of fascination and shock. His entire body trembled, wanting her more than ever. His hands unwound from hers and his fingers skirted up her sides, skimming over the soft, velvety skin. Those hands moved past her hips, her waist and still upward, tentative and shy as they explored the ridges of her ribs, the swell of her breasts, the dip above her collarbone.

The way he shook beneath her was amusing, telling her what she had always suspected to be true. The brief glimpses of innocence she had seen pass over his features in the past year each time she had toyed with him in this way had been genuine. It was the only bit of innocence he had left in him after all the fighting and the killing and the burning and now she ached to have it, too. Leaning forward, she rubbed the softness of her skin against his naked chest as she claimed his lips, intent on burning away every last vestige of the man he had once been. He was hers. Her creation, her property, her possession…

Jasper's hands slid back down her sides to rest at her hips, his lips hungrily working against hers. One hand moved around to splay against the small of her back while the other one slid back up to knot into her hair. A low groan rumbled in his throat as every fiber in his being tingled in anticipation of the unknown pleasures to come.

Maria gasped into Jasper's mouth, her hands pawing at his chest as she let her feelings of want, of lust, of desire surround him like a thick fog of opium. Seducing him had been easier than she had thought it would be. His gift was easily used against him with very little effort on her part and had been since his creation. Rarely could he distinguish between his feelings and the ones she wanted him to feel. The fact that he believed himself to be in love with her made it that much more simple. Deprived of her challenge she decided instead to thoroughly enjoy every moment of defiling him.

The cloud of feelings Maria emanated sunk into his skin and intensified the longing her poisonous touch created. He groaned against her lips, low and deep, as the pleasure overtook him. "I love you," he gasped against her lips. The bondage under which she held him was too powerful to break.

Every gasp, every heartfelt declaration only further fueled her sadistic need to break him of his every resistance to her. Never breaking their kiss she moved to the side, leaving one thigh artfully draped over his waist. Reaching down she unbuttoned his pants with a well practiced flick of her fingers and slid her hand inside, moaning against his lips when she found what she had been seeking.

Jasper's hand contracted and knotted into her hair when she slipped her hand into his pants and closed it around him. His body arched as another intense spike of pleasure shot through his very core, potent and overpowering and causing his eyes to flutter closed. "Maria." Her name was a plea on his lips as he turned his head to find the soft skin on the hollow of her throat and pressed his mouth to it.

The power she felt to hear her name on his lips as he writhed next to her in mindless pleasure made her own curve into a seductive smile. He would willingly give her what she sought. He would give her anything, do anything. He was her puppet and she held the strings in her skillful fingers.

Releasing him she rose up onto her knees again and slowly slid his pants down over his hips, drawing them off of his legs and following every new inch of exposed skin with her mouth. When she had finished, she trailed her lips back up the length of his thigh, hovering in a teasing manner along his hip bone and skimming him with the tip of her nose before running her tongue up the length of his abdomen, his chest and finally scraping her teeth along his throat. She sought out the scar there, the one she had given him the night she had changed him, and her lips closed over it, silently reminding him who he belonged to as she gracefully shimmied out of her skirts.

Jasper's lips parted into a gasp of ecstasy. Every nerve in his body exploded into a spasm of pleasure to the point that it almost immobilized him. Her lips, whispering so softly against the exposed skin of his hips, his abdomen, and now his throat, caused his back to arch as another spasm claimed him. His hand contracted involuntarily into her hair as the other one skimmed along the impossibly soft skin of her hip and up her waist, his fingers once again curling around the curve of her breast and hesitantly smoothing over it.

Straddling him again she took up his hands and moved them to roam over her, letting him sample every inch of her naked body before she leaned down, her voice a raspy whisper as she nipped at his ear. "Who do you belong to, Jasper?"

Trembling hands trailed back down to her hips with her guidance. "You," he gasped in a voice barely above a whisper. He wanted her, more than he'd ever thought possible, from the seductive way she spoke to him to the way her hips pressed so enticingly against his own.

His surrender complete she impaled herself on him in the same moment she sank her teeth into his shoulder, pleasure and pain mixed together in a delicious concoction contrived to send his senses reeling.

His back arched against the sudden explosion of conflicting sensations. Blinding pleasure and searing pain combined together to send a jolt of electricity through him. One hand dropped to ball into a fist in the satins and silks underneath him while the other contracted tightly against her hip as another spasm shot through him. Never had he experienced something so exciting, so pleasurable and yet painful at the same time. His lips worked to form words but he couldn't utter anything but a low groan.

In one swift motion she flipped over onto her back and pulled him on top of her, locking her legs around his waist and coaxing his hips into a steady rhythm. She'd completed the motion before Jasper even had time to process what was going on. Raw energy flooded through him, as his hips began to move with hers. Her fingernails dug into the skin of his chest, cutting deep grooves into his marble skin as she slowly dragged them down to his abdomen, meeting his eyes with smoldering lust as she carved another sign of her possession of him to match the angry red bite mark healing on his shoulder.

Another gasp escaped his lips, both in pleasure and pain when she dug her nails into him, something building up inside of him to the point that he felt his body erupt into unanimous trembling. The searing pain from her nails paled in comparison to the need for her that his body continued to feel deprived of. It was as though he couldn't get close enough, couldn't get enough of her.

She arched her back, coming up to meet him with each thrust of his hips, her breath coming in short pants as she stared deep into his eyes. "Jasper…" She reached up a hand, locking it around the back of his neck and forcing him to hold her gaze as she tightened the snare of her thighs around his waist.

"Maria," he gasped, his breaths coming in hard pants. His skin tingled, his body trembled, a tidal wave of ecstasy inside of him surging to a climax that he felt helpless to hold at bay. With their hips locked together in a rocking motion, each thrust sending a new spike of excitement and pleasure through him, Jasper clenched his eyes shut and began to quicken his pace. The release came in rush of pent up energy, brilliant light exploding behind his eyelids followed by an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction. He collapsed on top of her, breathing hard as he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened between them.

Maria's eyes closed in triumph as his chest heaved against her. She held him captive in a tangle of her arms and legs, her fingers twining possessively in his hair as she basked in the aftermath of her conquest. "You're mine, Jasper Whitlock. Now and for all eternity."


	6. Possession

5. Possession

Evening gave way to midnight and it in turn gave way to the hint of the early morning sun which softly filtered in through the sheer curtains at the window, not yet a reality. Jasper's body practically floated on the bed. He was so full of light and happiness and satisfaction that he barely gave any notice to the dawn outside. Had he been paying attention he would've already headed to the barn. Instead his eyes lay on Maria, her beauty just as entrancing as it had been earlier in the night.

"My love." He lavished a smile on her and reached out to lazily stroke a hand to her cheek.

Maria smiled back in response, her eyes still closed as she lay wrapped up in Jasper's arms. Over the course of the night she had laid claim to him again and again. To hear him speak to her in such adoring tones only reaffirmed the iron clad grip she now held over him. She wondered absently if he would be as amiable to her bringing others here to her room as she was so fond of doing. Isaac had been nearly driven mad by it though he had been more in lust with her than in love. If she could convince Jasper to slaughter children then perhaps she could make him accept anything. Her smile widened at the thought.

The light drifting over her eyelids became brighter. A new day was breaking. She realized with amusement that Jasper did not yet know the effects the sunlight had on them, believing like the rest of her pawns that it would burn him to a crisp. Besides her, only Nettie and Lucy knew the truth. Since she was keeping him on and allowing him to live beyond his first year, it was time he knew the truth as well.

She opened her eyes and turned to face him. "Jasper, there's something I want to show you…"

The sun was rising rapidly and streams of light began to work their way across the wooden floor, creeping onto the bed and relentlessly making their way to their entwined bodies until they fell across them, setting their skin to glittering.

Jasper yelled in anticipation of the coming pain and bolted from the bed so fast the sheets whipped away from her with his retreating form. He plastered his back against the wall and drew up on his tip toes, as the light inched the fading shadows away. "Maria!" he yelled in panic, but he didn't dare reach for her. "Come on!"

Maria sat up, her raven hair tumbling over her naked breasts but still not hiding the way her skin sparkled in a brilliant array of rainbow facets, buried just under the surface of her marble smooth skin. Her expression was not one of pain but rather of wicked amusement.

"Jasper, come here," she coaxed, reaching a hand out to him. "There's no danger. It was all a lie."

He shook his head, shrinking in terror against the wall. Surely this had to be some kind of trick though he couldn't grasp why she hadn't burst into flames if it weren't.

"I don't understand..." Slowly, he drew up from the wall and took one tentative step out into the sun. His skin immediately erupted into millions of tiny facets of light but it didn't hurt. "Odd…" Intrigued, he held one hand out in front of him, examining the effect with wonder.

Maria rose up off the bed, naked and radiant underneath the influence of the sun. She took Jasper's hand and entwined her fingers with his, raising their joined hands up for him to see.

"Amazing…" Jasper breathed in awe, watching their hands clasped together in the sun. From day one, he'd been told that being caught out in the sun meant certain death. It was an unexpected revelation to say the least.

Maria watched the fascination in his eyes and her lips curved in what was more a smirk than a smile. "I let the newborns believe the sun will burn them. They're wild and barely controlled as it is. The fear of death has often been all that has kept them from hunting during the day. A pack of newborns tearing across the countryside and sparkling in the sun would draw more attention than I care to have."

"But how?" It seemed to be the only question he could come up with among the millions whirling in his head.

"I don't know why or how it happens," she admitted. "It's part of who we are. Perhaps it was intended to make us more attractive to our prey. Since you are no longer a mere newborn, I thought it time you knew the truth. Nettie and Lucy know as well."

His gaze lifted from their joined hands and up to her face. Anger should've been his first response to her confession but he couldn't get past the awe that this knowledge brought. Having trained her newborns for almost a year now, he understood their nature and their penchant to do as they wished, whenever they wished. They knew no boundaries or rules and without the constant manipulation they both used on them for cooperation, he doubted they would listen any more than a pack of wild animals. It was the fear that they would burn that kept them somewhat contained, at least during the day.

She reached up and took his face between her hands. "No one else can know this, Jasper. If the newborns aren't contained, if they expose us, then the Volturi will come and we will all die. The children are a strategic ploy, short lived and easily destroyed but exposure, should it be on a large enough scale, is not so easily hidden."

The violence of war had hardened him, creating a vampire of lethal proportions out of the southern gentleman he'd once been. But the very thought of killing the children, should they survive the upcoming battle, bothered him more than any of the slaughter and destruction of opposing armies ever had. Any evidence of emotion remained hidden by the blank expression on his face. "I won't say anything," he promised.

"I know you won't," she purred, letting go of his face and trailing her fingertips down his face before she turned and strolled back toward the bed. "You understand the importance of control. It's why I've chosen you to help me lead." She reclined back amongst the rumpled silks and satins, looking like a concubine in a lavish harem as she shook out her hair and let it fan out behind her. Her eyes roved over him and her perpetual smirk widened.

He nodded slowly. "I do." Control was something his gift allowed him to have and he used it frequently to keep the newborns she created in line.

"I think tonight I shall finish creating our new soldiers. Lucy and Nettie can come with me, help me to steal the little dears out of their beds." She couldn't help but to let a wicked laugh escape her ruby lips. "It's almost too easy, really. I don't know why I never thought of it before."

His thoughts jumbled around inside of his head, looking for the right thing to say, to do. The boards beneath his bare feet felt like unsteady ground as he took a shaky step forward.

"They won't need to be trained. I don't care how good at fighting they are. They just need to be put up front and pointed in the right direction. Your soldiers will do the rest." She stretched her arms out above her head in a languid motion, enjoying the feel of the satin under her naked body and watching as the sunlight cast an array of rainbows off her skin and onto the ceiling above her. "Make sure they know nothing else. I don't want any of the children finding out our plans and trying to run. It would be irritating to have to hunt them down, one by one."

Jasper watched her with a fool's expression. Being hopelessly in love with her as he was, he couldn't see through the cloud of seduction that she had cast over him. Still, the killing of the children bothered him on some level and he cast his gaze down to the floor.

Maria could sense his hesitation and her eyes narrowed as she studied him. "Have I made a mistake?" Her tone was chilling, her eyes deadly as she watched him carefully, waiting for any sign of weakness, any possibility of betrayal in his reaction.

Nettie and Lucy both bore the scars of defiance. He wasn't fool enough to doubt that she would leave her own on him if he questioned her. Softness embellished his tone. "No." He didn't look at her, but he didn't have to. She would sense the defeat in his tone without the eye contact.

"Come here." Her voice was authoritative, firm as she rose up onto her knees and beckoned him forward.

Jasper obediently came toward the bed and as soon as he was within reach she grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her, her expression soft and alluring. Leaning forward, she brushed her lips across his jaw and down his throat. Once her face was out of view, it hardened into something sinister. "You know I love you. I only want to protect us. I need you to help me."

A shudder slithered up his spine but he couldn't explain its exact meaning, just that the feelings within it were mixed. "I know. I love you too. I'll do what I can."

"You do wonderfully. Always." Her hand slid down his naked chest, her lips flowering once more against his throat.

Another pleasing shudder slid down his spine. His lips curved into a coy smile. "I'm glad you approve."

"You'll know if I don't." Her voice was light, teasing, but with an undercurrent of threat as she grabbed him and threw him down on the bed.

"I will," he breathed, assuming she was talking about his gift. A rush of excitement flooded through him, the moment his back struck soft mattress.

OoOoOoO

Daniel stared with questioning eyes at one of the young vampires being guarded by Jasper. She was the blonde female he had seen Jasper carry in a few nights before, her vibrant red eyes staring out from a face that spoke of fear. She looked to be only a few years younger than himself, much like the others, some of whom were still writhing around on the ground in pain, undergoing the change. One such young boy cried out in agony and the blonde vampire clapped her hands over her ears, pulling up her knees and burying her face there.

Daniel watched Jasper flinch. Even so, he seemed stoic, resolute. He hadn't said much of anything all night as he simply stood there, as though daring anyone to challenge him.

Feeling eyes upon him, Daniel turned his head to find the blonde vampire's eyes burning into him, through him. They were terrified, haunted.

"What are you looking at?" a large male newborn snarled just to Daniel's right. John. He lunged forward at the little blonde vampire and flung Daniel out of the way.

As if by magic, Jasper came back to life, moving in a blur to put himself in between John and the child vampire. "You'd be wise to back off," Jasper warned, baring his teeth to unleash a savage growl. Behind him the little blonde jumped back against the wall with a startled hiss, baring her teeth in a sad attempt to look threatening.

"Make her stop staring!" John growled, putting his hands to his temples. "She's driving me crazy!"

Jasper's eyes sparked fiercely. "She's not doing anything wrong!" he barked, but he looked over his shoulder at the child in question.

Those haunting, red eyes turned to Jasper, filling his vision with an image of her mother, of her sisters playing, of a fluffy gray kitten sitting in her lap. Where were they? Why was she here?

Jasper blinked back against the images flooding his vision but it was of no use. The images came regardless. He recognized them instantly: the woman he'd killed, the children Maria had killed. The woman's screams filled his mind, her eyes full of fear.

"They're not coming back," Jasper whispered, slamming his own eyes shut against the pain the visions caused.

Why?

The question was asked with a child's innocence and it was with an expression to match that she sank to the ground, looking up at Jasper with baleful eyes. Unlike the others, who clawed at the dirt and howled in thirst, she was unusually calm. Her throat burned but more than anything she worried for her family and it was these images that kept shuffling through her mind, over and over again.

Jasper's lips hovered on the verge of a frown as a stab of pain shot through him. Even as she sunk to the ground, her eyes bore into him relentlessly, haunting in their stare. Unblinking, unwavering.

"Because they're dead."

A barrage of emotions took hold of her, mostly centering on overwhelming grief. With a pitiful whimper she buried her head in her arms, tearless sobs shaking her tiny frame. Images continued to flash through her mind. Her mother baking, her sisters laughing. Gone, gone, gone...

When the child's emotions cut loose, a torrent of violent waves flew into the atmosphere and Jasper felt a powerful swell of guilt growing within him. He put out his own influence to calm her before she could overwhelm him. It worked to counteract her emotions but it wouldn't and didn't stop the images continuing to assault his mind.

As soon as her grief hit her it was suddenly gone and she was left feeling strangely numb. She blinked a few times, at a loss to explain how she was suddenly incapable of feeling much of anything. A vicious growl caused her head to snap up and she nervously cast her eyes back to the large vampire, John, and he snarled in rage. Jasper kept between them, slipping into a crouch of defense, his arms fanned out to his sides to prevent any attempts of getting past him.

"Make her stop or I'm going to rip her apart!"

"You'll not touch her!" he hissed in rage and the smoldering fire in his eyes sparked to life again.

"I don't want her to show me those things anymore," John spat. "Tell her to stop!"

Jasper shifted a glance over his shoulder at the little girl. "I don't think she realizes it." Crouched and ready Jasper backed toward the child, his eyes furtively scanning across every vampire in the barn. Should they make a move, it would be their last.

The other newborns hissed and shifted around uncomfortably, eyes wild and sparked with malice toward the little vampire, who suddenly appeared confused.  
>"Show them things? But I'm not-"<p>

Daniel edged toward the girl, shooting Jasper a wary glance as he did. "It's okay," he whispered.

Jasper's eyes shifted to the boy vampire, scrutinizing him as he passed. By the emotions he gave off, Jasper could tell he meant no harm so he dismissed him as a threat and let him by.

As soon as Jasper's eyes left him, Daniel scurried to the girl's side. "It's alright," he whispered again, putting an arm around her shoulders. My name is Daniel."

The girl said nothing but continued to sob, letting her head rest on her knees.

"Do you have a name?" he prompted, leaning over to try and meet her eyes.

"Emily," she sniffed, turning her head in his direction.

The moment her eyes met Daniel's he gasped. Images, all sorts of images, rushed into his mind.

"H-how do you do that?"

"Do what?" If it were possible she actually looked a little more frightened.

"When you looked at me, I could see things...a white house with yellow flowers."

"That's mine!" she exclaimed. "I was just thinking of it! But how did you-?"

"You must be gifted!" Daniel turned his eyes to look up at Jasper. "Maria will be happy, won't she?"

Jasper shifted his eyes in Daniel's direction, inclining his head slightly. "I suppose she will be, yes." The children were fodder, simple as that, and he was pretty sure that it wouldn't matter to Maria if Emily could project pictures or not.

The sound of horse's hooves and carriage wheels came from outside a moment before the barn doors flew open and Nettie came striding in, the scent of human blood heavy and thick in the air behind her. Her gaze, cold and hard, settled on Jasper for a moment before her eyes flicked to John and another large male named William with an air of authority.

"You two! Come and help us unload. And no biting a one of them! You'll split into parties and go hunting afterward. If you so much as nibble one, I'll personally rip your sorry carcasses apart!"

John and William grumbled but did as they were told. Soon they returned with four humans, bound together in a line with rope as though they were a string of sausages. Nettie entered with another four as did Lucy, one human apiece for each of the children.

Lucy's eyes caught sight of Daniel sitting next to Emily and a furious hiss escaped her lips. "Daniel! Get away from her! Come here this instant!"

Daniel gave Emily an apologetic look before scrambling to his feet and running over to Lucy. She quickly grabbed him and clasped him to her, her eyes shooting to Jasper's face as if to ask how he could have let such a thing happen. Daniel wasn't much older than the children Maria had selected and he was nearing his year mark. She was desperately afraid that Maria might get the idea to use him for the same purposes the others.

"You stay over here, on this side of the barn. Do you understand me?"

Daniel's eyes drifted back toward Emily but he nodded in agreement.

Lucy's gaze followed his, landing on the girl in question with eyes set like stone. When they moved across the seven young boys in her group, however, they softened with unspeakable pain.

Maria entered last, assessing the situation inside with cool satisfaction. Jasper had done well in her absence. Everything seemed to be in control.

"Well, what are we waiting for? My children are thirsty." Grabbing a nearby man, who trembled and muttered a prayer, she kicked him square in the back and sent him flying toward the newborn children. His three companions followed, bound together as they were, and the child vampires nearby fell upon them, drinking hungrily until the screams faded.

Nettie and Lucy wrangled the remaining humans, screaming and struggling, across the barn and offered them to the children in much the same way. All fed readily except for Emily, who hesitated long enough to draw Nettie's attention. Jasper stiffened when she caught sight of Emily, once again becoming alert.

"What are you waiting for, child? You're thirsty, aren't you?"

Emily nodded pitifully.

"Then drink!" Nettie grabbed a woman by the hair and wrenched get head back, shoving her neck at Emily's face.

Jasper watched Nettie's every movement, gauging her level of threat. It was just this one child that struck such strong feelings within him, dredging up a buried protective instinct that a parent or older brother would possess. With Maria present, however, he didn't dare try anything and stead stood by helplessly. He didn't move, didn't breathe, not wanting Maria to see his weakness and act upon it.

Emily swallowed hard against a mouthful of venom before leaning forward and sinking her teeth reluctantly into the woman's flesh.

Despite the chaos in front of her, Lucy watched Daniel amble off amongst the adult newborns before coming to stand just beside Jasper. Speaking in a whisper so low that even he would have to strain to hear it and barely moving her lips, she turned her head towards him ever so slightly. "I do what I'm told without complaint. I keep my opinions to myself and I don't cause trouble. But I must ask this one thing: keep Daniel away from the children. I don't want Maria getting any ideas and I don't want him getting hurt regardless. I've seen the way he looks at that one. She's trouble."

Jasper's eyes drifted to Emily, watching her as she drank. "She's not. I assure you," he whispered back in an equally low voice. "She's just a child." He allowed his gaze to linger on the child for just a moment longer before it drew back to Lucy. "I'll watch Maria and try to make sure he's not harmed, but I can't guarantee that I can do anything about it."

"I don't mean trouble as in her being unruly. I mean trouble as in I know what her purpose is, Daniel does not. I don't want him getting attached, getting hurt when..." A flicker of distaste washed over her features and was gone just as quickly. "Daniel is almost a year old. I doubt Maria intends to keep her promise to me, the one she made when I created him."

"You created Daniel?" His eyes widened in shock. "I thought only Maria made the newborns."

"Yes." Lucy's eyes shifted to Maria where she stood, eyeing her abominations as they fed with obvious pleasure. "In the beginning I was what you would call suicidal. I disobeyed, I lashed out. I tried to make Maria kill me. Such was my grief for my lost child. But when Maria wants something, she will have it and she wanted me. I, too, am gifted though I have never used it on our kind. I can compel people to do what I want. Helps in drawing out potential newborns, catching them off guard. I was the perfect bit of bait. So Maria offered me that which I mourned for. A son." A smile lit on her face as she spotted Daniel, sitting against the far wall. "She let me create him and make him my own. He was a drummer for the Confederacy. I found him dying amongst those already dead on an abandoned battlefield."

Jasper nodded, lowering his eyes to the ground. He listened for the most part without interruption as Lucy went on to explain about the loss of her child. When she mentioned she was gifted, however, his eyes flew up to meet hers. "You're gifted? Did you use your gift on me?"

Lucy chuckled. "Think back to the night Maria bit you. Why do you think you got off that horse when you were so eager to turn and flee?"

His eyes followed her over to Daniel. "And Daniel? He fills this void inside of you? Is this why you're so protective of him?"

"He makes the pain easier to bear, yes." She cast a look over her shoulder at the young male vampires behind them. "I don't know how I'm going to stand this."

Jasper looked at the new vampires as well before letting his eyes come back to rest on Lucy. "It's something that has to be done."

"And so you'll slaughter them. The ones that are left. I do not envy you that task."

Jasper winced in the affirmation of Lucy's words. Maria had said them herself but somehow hearing it from Lucy made it all the more real. They would be fighting and some, if not most, would die.

Guessing at the source of his discomfort, Lucy eyed the little blonde vampire once more. "If it's any consolation, she'll most likely be torn apart quickly. If we have the fires ready beforehand we can end their suffering just as fast." She lifted her gaze to Nettie where she stood over the girl, her eyes narrowing. "Nettie and I never fight in the battles. You could order us to gather up the pieces and throw them in immediately. I'm fast. I can dodge the surrounding battle. If Nettie doesn't fare as well...well then I'll toss her in the fire too and I'll be grateful for it."

Jasper pressed his lips together in a thin line before his eyes left Lucy to land on the child. "I'll do what I can for Emily. You should stay near Daniel in case Maria makes a last minute decision to go back on her word."

Lucy grew very still, her expression chilling. "If she does, I will stop at nothing until I see her dead. No one will touch Daniel." She met Jasper's gaze then as if daring him to tell Maria what she had just said. "No one. Not ever."

Jasper nodded. "I won't say anything, I promise."

His eyes once again slid in the direction of the child. He held her in his gaze, like a defender watching over something precious. Her long golden hair, the memory of her blue eyes before the change, they both served reminders of the child she used to be. Reminders of a family he'd once had as well: a mother, a father, sisters, their blonde hair and pale blue eyes piercing some long forgotten part of his mind. Pain streaked across his face at the vague, fuzzy memory.

"Careful, Jasper. Your emotions are showing." Lucy sauntered off in search of Daniel, eager to put the sight of the children as far behind her as she could.

He nodded once and watched her disappear before going to Emily's side and lowering himself to the floor to sit next to her. "Are you full?"

Emily turned grief stricken eyes up to the blond vampire she had heard referred to as Jasper. "I killed her," she mumbled. "Did my mother die that way?"

Jasper simply nodded. "Yes," he mumbled, not bothering to go on to explain further. "I suppose you're wondering what's happened to you, why you're no longer with your family?" Drawing in a breath, he shifted his eyes ahead of him and braced himself for what he was about to explain. "You're a vampire now. Your throat is burning because of the craving for human blood. It'll only get worse if it's not satisfied."

Emily didn't care for anything Jasper was saying. Her mind continued to focus on her lost family. "And my sisters?" She looked out at the angry, snarling mass of newborns. "Which one killed them?"

Jasper opened his mouth to speak, but his words were quickly silenced by Maria.  
>She was suddenly there, kneeling in front of the girl, an angelic smile curving her lips as she brushed the side of the girl's face. Recognizing Maria as the one who had bitten her, Emily trembled and cast her eyes down at the floor. "You ask far too many questions, young one." Her face suddenly hardened, all trace of pity or benevolence leaving her eyes in favor of cold indifference. "Jasper killed your mother. I killed your sisters. And if you don't be quiet, I'm going to kill you, too." Her smile returned as she smoothed away a lock of the girl's hair in a motherly fashion, tucking it behind the girl's ear. "Is that understood?"<p>

Jasper felt a stab of pain when Maria revealed the details of her mother and sisters' deaths. It wasn't something he had been planning on telling her. Being as new as she was to this, he didn't think she needed to know just yet. He just kept his eyes trained forward, making sure not to give anything belying anger or pain away.

Emily nodded, shrinking into herself and trying to curl up into as small of a ball as she could manage. Jasper's eyes drifted over to the child, taking in the fear evident in her posture. He'd make it a point to speak with her later.

Maria stood and walked towards the doors. "Lucy, Nettie. Watch them. The sun is rising soon and I think it time that Jasper and I retire."

Jasper rose to his feet, casting a look of apprehension at the child when Maria turned her back, then shifted that same look to Lucy as if asking her to keep a watch on her. With reluctance, he followed behind Maria out of the barn and into the night.

Once outside, Maria let out a wild peal of laughter, lengthening her strides until she had entered the house. When she had she fell against the wall, stifling her giggles behind her hand. "This is working out perfectly, Jasper. I couldn't have hoped for it to go any better! They children are ravenous, driven by thirst, undisciplined. Point them in the direction of our enemies and they'll gladly do as they're told if we promise them blood. We shouldn't lose any of our soldiers and if we do, the losses will be minimal."

Jasper stood before her, eyes frozen ahead of him. "Yes, it should be easy," he agreed, allowing his gaze to fall on her as another peal of laughter escaped her.

She sighed in contentment. "They're all exactly what I wanted...except for that blonde girl. She's an odd one. I don't think she'll attempt to fight but she'll do for fodder."

"Emily. She's gifted. She projects thoughts to others."

Maria's good humor vanished immediately, her hands closing over Jasper's upper arms. "What? She's... She's gifted?"

"Yes," Jasper confirmed, watching her expression carefully.

Letting go of Jasper she whirled and kicked a hole into the wall, her anger quick and turned inward. "If I had only known! We could have kept her here, human, for just a few years more! Just a few years and then we wouldn't have to destroy her! She's too young as she is now. Far too young. Not older than their witch twins! Not old enough to be safe!"

Maria's anger surprised Jasper, causing him to jump when she smashed her foot through the wall. She was ranting like a madman but her peculiar reference to witch twins caught his attention. "Witch twins? Who are they?"

"The Volturi's witch twins," Maria explained, pacing now with her hands balled into fists. "Alec and Jane. Pray you never meet them. Alec can cut off all your senses. Jane can inflict unimaginable pain with just a look. What I wouldn't give to have such a pair! They were turned around the age of 15, spared from burning at the stake. If only we'd known! We could have kept the newborns from eating her for at least another few years! We could have locked her up here in the house!"

A shiver slid up his spine at the mention of the Volturi, Alec and Jane. Even at a year old, he held a deep respect for their laws. "I pray if I do, it shall be quick." He shuddered. "An army full of gifted vampires would be sure to win a conflict. But don't you think it might also draw the attention of the Volturi as well?"

Beyond hearing him, her anger boiled over again and she punched through an old door, reducing it to nothing more than splinters. Her chest heaved in impotent rage a moment more before she took a deep breath and ran a hand over her face.

Jasper took a step back and tentatively kicked a splintered shard out of the way. His eyes leveled on her mutely, as the vibration of rage passed through her.

"Maybe we could keep her? Maybe she could pass for 15? No, if Aro ever touched her... But the three of them, they don't leave the city often. Perhaps... No, no, other covens have mind readers. What if she got away? What if she told someone herself? We'd be killed!"

"Other covens could have mind readers, it's true, but name a coven that has yet to survive our attack. No one gets away from me, you know that," he said, tilting his head a little.

Maria listened to him, her eyes intense as she weighed the risk. She wanted so much to keep the girl. She would be a fine addition...

"She's young," Jasper continued, "but she's old enough to receive instructions and understand them."

No matter how much she tried to convince herself, no matter how much she tried to let his words sway her, she simply couldn't dismiss the risk. She had not achieved her status and gained her considerable land holdings without being careful.

Maria turned to face him, her mouth pulling down in a frown. "We'll have to destroy her, I'm afraid. That is, if she survives the battle. And I daresay she might not. Too timid, probably afraid of her own shadow. Pity. She could have been our little daughter. She rather looks like you. I suppose it's the hair." Maria ran her hands through his curls, her mouth finally turning up in a wistful smile.

A stab of pain shot through him but he concealed it well enough by simply staring numbly past her. "I suppose she does look like me, somewhat," he said, pursing his lips together. The glaze vanished from his eyes, the moment her hands came in contact with him, replaced by the warm feeling of want he always got from her.

"We won't do this again. It's too upsetting to create a gifted vampire only to have to waste that gift. Thankfully she's the only one. Were there more I don't think I could stand it."

"Yes, it's unfortunate but at least the gift isn't a very profound one. She project's thoughts. Not exactly something that will win battles," he said. "Pity that we'll never know whether that gift will grow or not."

"I had a similar male once. Robert. He could project illusions though. Very useful." A flicker of sadness passed across her expression before she sighed. "And you're right. It could have developed into more. Just think if she could have grown to be able to plant thoughts in the minds of others as though they were their own."

"Yes. It would've been nice to see how she would grow," he nodded in agreement. Jasper caught the fleeting flicker of sadness on her face before it disappeared. It was possibly the first time she'd shown any emotion besides anger. "Don't be sad, love. I'm sure there will be more in the future."

Maria gave him a brittle smile. "It's not that. Well it is but... Robert was- Robert was special to me. He was killed." She shrugged. "We all make sacrifices to keep what we have here. Even me."

"Is it too bold for me to ask how he died?" he asked. "Did you love Robert?" She seemed to be showing a side to him that she never showed around the others, a vulnerable side that she kept well hidden by grit and rage.

"Yes, I did love him. And he died because I killed him...in a manner of speaking." Her eyes lingered on his face for a moment as though reading his reaction then they drifted away to look at nothing in particular, empty, resigned. "It was many years ago and we were a small coven. Seven newborns, Nettie, Lucy, Robert and myself barely holding on to a small parcel of land, barely enough to keep ourselves fed. A neighboring coven decided that even this miniscule bit of land was to be theirs and they moved to challenge us. Robert, with his gift, was our only hope at survival. If he could intercept the army and project his illusions, confuse them, then we perhaps had a chance. I knew that if he failed, he would be killed but to not try meant certain death. I ordered him to go and sent 4 of the newborns with him." She paused for a moment, wrapping her arms around herself. "He used to show me such beautiful things with his gift. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him. And yet, I was the leader. I was responsible for protecting us and I had to do what needed to be done. Robert went out to meet them and he never came back. I could scent the army drawing closer and I knew that he was lost. I took Lucy, Nettie and the remaining three newborns and fled.

"We reached a farmhouse, slaughtered the occupants and afterward I hid them all in the crawlspace under the house in hopes that if any of the coven members controlling the area happened upon it, they would simply attribute the scent of unfamiliar vampire to nomads passing through. I alone ventured out and secured food, dragging the humans back, kicking and screaming at great risk of being killed myself so that they could feed. I myself did not. We had to be careful, poaching off another coven's lands. We couldn't take too many. I took just enough for them and I myself starved.

"I didn't feed for 6 months. By the end of it I had almost gone mad but I pulled them through it and I rebuilt. Nettie, Lucy, those newborns...I had to preserve what we were, I had to protect our right to survive."

Jasper closed his arms around her. "In time, you'll never have to worry about that again. I promise," Drawing a breath. "I'll protect you. I'll protect all of us if I have to." So she could love. Nettie and Lucy had been wrong or they'd lied. His eyebrows pulled together in thought. "I'm sorry that happened to you." He offered her a gentle smile. The thought of her belonging to another did bother him in some light, but at the same time, it shed light on who she used to be.

She nodded slightly, accepting his sympathy with a frown. "When I destroyed the opposing coven in question, I killed them all except their leader. Him I tortured until I confirmed Robert's fate. Then I ripped him apart, slowly. I made him watch his own body burn before I threw his head into the flames."

Jasper shivered slightly at the image, the wrath in her evident as he sensed her rage at the memory. "Do you ever think you could love again?"

She looked at him for a moment, tilting her head to the side as she studied him. Could she learn to love him? Could she feel something real instead of just pretending? "Didn't I tell you that I love you? Do you not believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you," he stammered. "It's just that, well sometimes your feelings toward me waver."

"Perhaps what you sense as deception is merely my own reservations. I am a woman unable to trust as I have said." Maria shrugged, the act of lying coming to her so easily that she doubted Jasper would sense anything untrue in her words. She wasn't stating a fact after all, just a possibility. "I do love you, Jasper. Very much. I am quite capable of love." She pulled back from him, taking in his expression. "You look surprised. I'm not without emotion. I feel things besides anger."

"I guess I am a little surprised," he admitted. "It's just that...from day one, everyone around me has told me to fear you. To defy you would mean death."

"To defy me often does mean death. If I allow people to question my authority without punishment then I have no authority at all."

He understood now. Understood why she was so bitter and so hardened. It had been her life. When she broke out of his embrace, he let her go.

"I can't afford to feel anything else most of the time," she said, reaching down to take his hand. "The newborns need a leader. They need someone strong."

He sighed. "Yes, they do. They're wild and unruly if they're not controlled. Without my gift, I doubt it would be as easy as it is for me to do so."

Tugging on his hand, she led him towards the stairs. "After the battle I'm going to tell Nettie and Lucy about my plans for them. I'm thinking of giving Lucy part of the northern territory to monitor and Nettie the south. They'll need to run patrols to keep the borders protected."

He followed without question. "Lucy is trust worthy. She'll do well. I would, however, watch Nettie closely. I don't trust her. She's got an undercurrent to her moods that have been growing stronger lately."

Maria scowled. "I've never trusted Nettie. There was a reason I decapitated her once. I must confess that part of me is hoping that this gives her enough rope to hang herself, once and for all. I tire of her disobedience."

"Giving her the land could make her careless. If she's planning to overthrow you, that is," he agreed.

"She will if she has the chance. She's ambitious. That is not a quality I care to have in those who are meant to serve me. If I can't make her submit to me, I'll have to kill her."

"You mean I'll have to kill her," he corrected her, his tone taking on a hard edge. "And I will if you ask it of me."

Her eyes narrowed as she mounted the stairs with him in tow. "What were you and Lucy whispering about? I couldn't hear."

"We were discussing the aftermath of the battle to come. She offered her assistance in burning the victims and I told her that I had it covered, not to worry. That was all." He smiled. It wasn't the whole truth, but they had discussed it.

"Lucy knows her place," Maria stated simply.

"She does." In all honesty, he liked Lucy. She had done nothing but show him kindness since his creation but she didn't like Maria and she'd made that known on several occasions. She stayed true to her for Daniel's sake and that was enough keep her under Maria's thumb. Daniel was also the key in keeping her from joining ranks with Nettie.

Maria nodded. "Aside from a few past incidents and that night with the boy, I have rarely had any trouble from her. I often wonder, though, if she would be so obedient without the things I have to hold against her. Everyone can be controlled. It's just a matter of finding the right motivation."

"Do you feel satisfied to control everyone around you?" he asked. "I rarely question you so much, but I'm curious. You tell me that you love me, but all the same you'll threaten my life in a pin drop. I don't quite understand."

Her eyes hardened slightly. "I have to maintain control, Jasper. Always. And I will. Every life here is my responsibility. I cannot lower my guard, not for anyone. Not even for you. I wish I could trust someone. I imagine it would feel...refreshing."

"I know. I didn't mean to challenge or question you." His voice dropped to a muted tone. "You can trust me. I'll never hurt you."

She smiled, amused at how eager he was to please her, like a loyal puppy. Despite all the war he had faced in his short life he was still incredibly naive in some ways. If she had had a conscience, she might have felt regret for using him. "You're very sweet, Jasper. It's...endearing."

His heart swelled at the sight of her smile as hand in hand, they ascended the stairs and headed toward the bedroom. Once inside, Maria strolled over to the window, pulling the curtains aside and looking down at the barn. She listened intently to the sounds emanating from within, feeling on edge and unable to relax. Her work as leader of their coven was never done. Even here, in this room which was meant to be a sanctuary, she felt as though her mind was forever focused on the future, on maintaining control and plotting her next conquest.

Jasper moved into the room behind her and took a seat on the bed, watching her in curiosity. She was intent on something. He could sense it. Worry, underlined by fear and paranoia radiated in waves off of her. "You shouldn't worry too much. Come. Sit down." he smoothed his hand across the spot next to him.

Maria laughed, eyeing the place he indicated next to him. "I have to worry. It's what is expected of me in my position." She crossed the room and sat beside him, sweeping a lock of hair out of his face. "We need to build a strong coven, Jasper. Only gifted vampires, not just more mouths to feed. The ungifted ones are to be soldiers, temporary and disposable. They would have been disposable had we fed off them anyway instead of having turned them. The gifted ones become permanent members of our little family, each with something to contribute to solidify our hold here and protect us in ways the newborns cannot."

"And we will. In time, we will." Jasper whispered, leaning in close to her ear. A lopsided grin appeared on his face as he drew back. "You mustn't worry now…" One arm slipped around her shoulders and hugged her close to him as he sent a wave of his calming influence her way.

Maria had just allowed her head to rest upon his shoulder when she felt the fog of calm sweeping over her. In an instant she was across the room, hands balled into fists, her face set in an angry expression. "You will never use your gift on me! Ever! I will not be controlled by anyone, do you understand?"

She had moved at a speed far beyond that of a simple vampire, having let slip her own unique gift out of her desire to free herself from his grasp. Her eyes moved over him warily, wondering if he had noticed or was simply too shocked to have comprehended what she had done.

Jasper was so shocked by Maria's anger that he just simply stared at her, unblinking. "I didn't mean to- I-.." he stammered, rising to his feet and backed toward the door. "I'm sorry." A sudden twist of fear took hold of him. "I should go." Without another word, he turned for the open doorway.

Before he could even turn towards the door she was suddenly there in front of it, blocking his path. "You cannot go! The sun is nearly risen and you cannot be seen in the daylight or the newborns will know! Sit down now!"

Jasper stared at her in disbelief. "How did you...? You moved so fast!"

Her voice was a harsh whisper, her eyes darting toward the window and the barn outside. "The only thing you need to worry about is that I can move that fast, faster than you could ever dream of moving yourself. Now sit!" Grabbing him by the shoulders she drove him across the room and forced him down onto the bed. "You are not to breathe a word about what you saw. Not to anyone. Not even Lucy and especially not to Nettie. It's to be our little secret."

He was helpless to stop her. Instead of fighting against her strength he simply went with it, hitting the bed and looking up at her, his expression a mixture of confusion and fear.

His shocked face was so comical, it almost made her laugh but she reined in the impulse to do so. Instead she let her humor soften her features into an angelic expression as her restraining hands loosened and she moved them to the sides of his face, their touch light and sensual. "Don't be afraid, Jasper," she cooed as she smiled down at him. "You know I'm not going to hurt you."

Jasper swallowed and nodded slowly, the fear disappeared from his eyes and melted into relief. "I know you won't."

Maria leaned in and placed her lips against his ear, her breath caressing the sensitive skin there. A shiver raced up his spine the moment her breath touched his skin. He swallowed against the flood of emotions roiling within him.

"There. See? Everything is alright, isn't it?"

Unable to speak, he just simply nodded.

One hand drifted down from his face to the waistband of his pants, her searching fingers dipping inside as her teeth nipped at his neck. "You're not scared anymore."

Another violent shiver raced through him causing his body to tremble. "No," he breathed, turning his face into her neck and pressing a kiss.

Her unadulterated pleasure at the feeling of his lips against her neck swirled around them both, potent and irresistible. "What do you want, Jasper? Tell me." Her fingers curled around him possessively as she let her lips graze his ear again, her voice a throaty growl. "What do you want?"

Jasper swallowed. "I want... I want you," he gasped, arching his back against her caress. Every stroke of her hand was a sensation of pure ecstasy, tingling his senses and sending waves of excitement flooding through him.

Maria straddled Jasper's lap and pushed him back onto the mattress. "Really?" she asked, skimming the tip of her nose down his jaw as she slowly stroked him. "Do you want this?"

"Yes," he groaned aloud as another spike of pleasure shot through him. A cloud of corruption hung around him: lust, need, want and pleasure all sinking into his flesh and bones to cause his muscles to ache and yearn for her.

Her lips spread apart in a toothy grin and she lunged forward and sank her teeth into his neck, holding him captive as she increased her pace, caressing him into a maddening frenzy. "Beg me," she commanded, reaching down to rip his clothes free of his body in a blur of movement. "Beg me to take you."

A sudden spasm of searing pain rushed through his body the moment her teeth cut into his neck. He whimpered back a scream as his body arched against the sting of the venom coursing through him and the pure pleasure her touch created. Suddenly he flipped her over, pinned her wrists to the bed and pushed his hips against hers. "No, beg me," he growled, the spark of hunger intensifying in his eyes.

Maria returned his growl with a hiss, baring her teeth. She had not expected this from her timid little Jasper but she was in no way upset by it. His face was fierce, delicious. She tilted her head back, baring her throat to him. "Make me," she challenged, a shiver of pleasure rippling through her at the thought of what he might do to make those words break from her lips.

Jasper rose up on his knees, balling the fabric of her bodice into his fists. In one quick flash of movement he had ripped it away leaving her body bare and sparkling against the sunlit bed. He lowered himself back on top of her, shoving his hips against hers and sinking his teeth into the skin of her neck in the same instant. One hand planted firmly beside her shoulder, while the other flashed back to curl around her calf. "I will."

The shock of his teeth piercing her flesh elicited a vicious snarl from her. He had bitten her and not only that but he had bitten her just below the only scar marring her pale skin besides the bite Benito had given her. The one that told of her human past, the one she had received when a man had tried to cut her throat rather than pay for the use of her body. Her hands flew up without a thought, fingers curved into deadly claws.

With little effort his hands locked around her wrists and pinned them back against the bed. A gasp escaped his lips, emotions running so high in him as he sampled her own. "Now beg." His tightened his hands like shackles, giving an animalistic growl. "Beg!" he commanded, pushing his hips against hers in the same instant he barked the order.

Her chest heaved with impotent rage, her eyes narrowing. She bucked her hips against him once but quickly relented to the weight of him pressing her into the mattress. Her anger subsided leaving intrigue in its place. How far would he go to extract from her what he wanted? What would he do to gain her submission to him? She pressed her lips together in a mutinous line. "No." Her voice was firm but her eyes danced with excitement.

The grip he held on her wrists tightened even more as he once again lowered his lips to her throat. "No?" his breath danced enticingly across her skin, before his teeth sank into the flesh there. Releasing the grip of one wrist, he dug his fingers into her marble smooth shoulder.

The second bite caused her to gasp but not in surprise this time. Rather it was pleasure that quickened her breathing as her free hand came up to fist in his hair.

"Beg," he whispered, leaning down to nip the lobe of her ear.

One perfectly shaped leg came up to wrap around his waist. She used it to pull him towards her as she arched her back and rose her hips up to meet him. The authoritative tone he was taking with her, the way he was trying to dominate her, made her ache with longing. No one had ever dared to attempt to possess her in such a way. She had always been the one who took what she wanted, who played the role of the seducer. The prospect of being made to beg for him, of being subjected to whatever dark desires he held was irresistible. Still, she decided as she grazed her teeth along his chest, he would have to try harder than that.

Excitement, desire, and lust hung thick in the atmosphere around him permeating through his skin to intensify the feelings between them as she forced his hips to grind against her. He caved himself in on her, his lips capturing hers with a fierce hunger before he reached down and, with the gentleness of picking up a delicate flower, he brought her hand up and drove his teeth into the flesh on the underside of her wrist.

The hand that remained fisted in his hair yanked his head to the side as she cried out. She lunged forward but found him out of reach, her teeth snapping just inches from his throat. Growling in frustration she removed her hand from his hair and grabbed his upper arm, her nails easily puncturing the skin there. She clenched her hand, watching his expression with malicious glee for the first glimmer of pain.

His eyes widened but the flicker of discomfort quickly vanished to be replaced by excitement. His hands closed around her upper arms and he suddenly yanked her up like a rag doll and smashed her into the headboard. Bunching her skirts up around her hips with one hand he brought the other up to close around her throat, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he brought himself nose to nose with her.

She could feel him there, poised to drive himself into her. She wanted him, wanted to feel him moving inside her, possessing her. She only had to say the words he wanted to hear. Meeting his eyes, she gritted her teeth and grasped at his shoulders. "Please…"

Jasper's lips crushed hers with a fierce edge of hunger and need in the same instant his hips pushed into hers, thrusting upward. His hands let go of her arms and planted against the wall on each side of her head, trapping her there as he claimed her for his own.

Maria gasped into his mouth, delighting in the feel of his muscles bunching and straining underneath her hands, the feel of him taking from her what he wanted. She pressed herself back into the wall, dancing between the desire to escape his hold and reassert herself and the longing to wrap her legs around his waist and give herself over completely to him.

An air of uncertainty infiltrated its way into the emotional atmosphere as he felt her muscles tensed, saw the look in her eyes. Jasper's body shuddered against her, his muscles taut with raw energy as sheer ecstasy flooded through him. He peeled his lips away from hers and pressed them to her ear. "You're not going anywhere." His breath tickled the sensitive skin there as he thrust himself into her again to prove his point.

Panting, her legs buckled and she collapsed against him, her arms snaking around his neck and her cheek coming to rest against his shoulder. "Jasper," she purred, dragging her nails across his shoulder blades. She mimicked the rhythm of his hips, hungry for more of him and never getting enough.

His chest heaved as he drew in several short, hard breaths. Hearing her submit was something truly magical. Never had he imagined he'd take control. With each thrust of his hips came a new wave of excitement. His entire body trembled with the delicious feeling, the thrill of having her in his arms. The deeper he plunged, the more he wanted to explore.

She gripped his back, nearly driven mad as a tidal wave of ecstasy built within her and threatened to consume her. She turned her head, bringing her lips to his throat. Instead of taking her revenge by savagely biting him in return, her mouth instead brushed over the scar she had given the night she had laid claim to his soul. "Please," she pleaded once more. "Please, Jasper…"

Jasper locked his hands once more around her upper arms and threw her bodily down onto the bed. "Maria," he gasped, his eyes wild. His body ached for release and each quickened push of his hips drove him closer to that promise. His fingers fisted the satin underneath her as his body went rigid and he gritted his teeth. The spasms spread, breaking through the barrier and flooding through him in a rush of emotion. He collapsed beside her and turned his eyes in her direction, his chest heaving.

Her breath still coming in pants she turned her head to look at him. An adoring smile broke across her face the moment before her fist slammed into his face. Laughing hysterically, she was straddling him in the next instant having moved so fast that she caught him completely by surprise.

His hand flashed up to cradle his nose the instant her fist slammed into his face. As quickly as it had happened, the pain was gone and his hand fell away from his face, a scowl in place of the smile that had once been there.

"That was for biting me," she explained, her eyes glinting with wicked amusement as she ran a finger across his lips. "And this," she growled, leaning forward to replace her finger with her mouth, "this is for being so damned irresistible that I didn't kill you for it."

Another thrill shot through him the moment their lips connected. "Oh really?" His lips turned up into a playful smile as a soft growl emanated from his throat. Once again he found himself drowning in her presence.

She nodded, lowering herself to lay her head on his chest. She was quiet for a moment, her mind back on the things she was charged with taking responsibility for. "There are several newborns that are nearing their year mark. David, William, Antonio… I think we should wait until after battle to dispose of them. None are gifted and they are easily replaced." She ran a hand down his chest, smiling at a few select memories that caused her thoughts to turn lustful. "Though they did have other uses, once upon a time."

The infiltration of lust caused Jasper's eyebrows to pull together. It wasn't there until she'd mentioned those particular three. Despite the sudden feelings of jealousy he felt, his hand stroked idly through her hair. No, she couldn't have felt anything for them. She loved him. She chose him to stand beside her above the others, to share her room, her bed. He was better them, special. They were disposable and he wasn't. Against his better judgment, the nagging question left his lips. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, sometimes I would bring an occasional newborn here in addition to Isaac. Sometimes two or three. Before you came along, I found sex to be an effective way of controlling them." A little laugh escaped her as she skimmed her nose along his neck. "They were eager to please, on and off the battlefield."

He remembered how Isaac and David had been taken out of the barn by her on the morning of his new life. She'd come to retrieve them just before dawn and they didn't resurface until the next evening. On countless occasions during the past year she had done the same with multiple newborns. His arms tightened around her. "How about now? Are you still planning on doing that?"

Maria kept her head on his chest where he couldn't see her face. He felt incredibly tense beneath her as though waiting intently for her answer. "I'm not sure." She lifted her hand to her mouth, running her tongue over the bite mark he had left there and watching as it turned into nothing more than a faint white crescent shape. "I can't say I haven't enjoyed it but you, my darling, seem to be full of enough surprises to keep me happily occupied."

Jasper chuckled softly. "You like surprises?"

"So far," she amended, lifting herself up on her elbows and smiling darkly.

One hand tucked a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. He held her gaze in awe, like a worshipper beholding a deity. "You're beautiful," he whispered as his lips curved into a smile.

It wasn't the first time she'd been told that nor would it be the last. But her smile widened at the way he said it, his voice full of wonder. She had him, completely. Most likely he would do anything she asked without hesitation, so convinced was he of her love for him.

A series of snarls erupted from the barn outside, sounds of fighting and the metallic screeching that signaled someone being ripped apart. Maria's head snapped toward the window. Her muscles tensed, the expression on her face showing how close she was to leaping off the bed, perhaps even rushing out to the barn despite the sun.

Jasper's head snapped up, his eyes going straight to the window and widening with horror. His first thought was something had happened to Emily, the child being so vulnerable against the larger more experienced newborns. The name trembled on his lips, but he didn't dare say it.

"And let that be an example of what I'm capable of should another one of you get any similar ideas! I will have order here or I'll leave you all a pile of body parts until Jasper returns! Is that clear or is someone else eager to spend the day in pieces?"

It was Lucy's voice. Maria didn't know who she had just dismembered and she didn't care. The end result was that she had things under control and her methods, given her size in relation to the newborns, was quite admirable. Maria flung herself off Jasper and onto her back. Draping an arm over her face she laughed out loud.

With the sound of Lucy's voice came relief. Jasper sank back against the bed, letting his eyes drift to the ceiling for a moment as he steadied himself. When he finally turned his head toward Maria it was with his lips edging a slight smile. "What's so funny?"

"Lucy," she replied, working to quiet her laughter. "She's quite impressive really. Tough. I bet whichever newborn that was didn't see that coming. But he'll remember and he'll know better next time."

Jasper agreed with a slight inclination of his head. "She is tough. I rather like Lucy."

"It was much harder to keep them under control before you came along but Lucy, Nettie and I, we managed." Her eyes joined Jasper's, tracing the cracks in the plaster of the ceiling. "Still, I don't think I ever again want to be without your gift, Jasper. It makes things so much more…civil."

Jasper chuckled. "I'm not sure I could control them without it."

The hisses and growls inside the barn picked up again and Maria turned her attention to the window before her eyes found Jasper's face. "Would you mind?" she asked. "Just a little something to quiet them down? I'm sure Lucy and Nettie have their hands full from the sounds of it."

Jasper sat up. "I suppose I can try," he said, nodding in compliance and slid off the bed to drift over to the window. Growls and wild hisses reached his ears as he peeled back the curtain and trained his gaze on the barn.

Maria rolled to her side and watched him standing there. With the sunlight reflecting off his face and his lean muscled chest, he really was a sight to behold. No, she didn't love him, not in the way he wished, but she couldn't deny the possessive feelings he stirred in her. Feelings which only increased as the noises from the barn quieted before disappearing altogether.

"Beautifully done, darling." She held out a hand to him, beckoning him back towards the bed, towards her. "Really you are my favorite out of all my creations."

Jasper turned on her with a pleased smile. "I wasn't sure if I could do it from this distance." With another glance over his shoulder, he drifted back over to the bed and sat down on the edge, skimming his fingers along the silken fabric.

She reached out a hand to run her fingers lightly down his arm. "I never doubted you for a moment."

"It's nice you had such faith in me, given I've never stretched it that far," he chuckled, shrugging.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. She slid up behind him, draping her arms over his shoulders and running her hands along the lean muscles of his chest. "Jasper?" she asked, pressing her lips to his ear. Jasper closed his eyes, lulled into submission at her touch. "Yes?" he tilted his head up to trace light kisses along her neck.

"Do you think you could make the opposing army feel calm from a distance? So much so that they wouldn't want to fight?"

"I can try." He was quite certain he'd do anything to please her.

She tightened her arms around him possessively, her lips curving into a satisfied smile to think of it. "After the children are destroyed then. If it's possible, I know you'll find a way." She leaned down to brush her lips across his temple. "I love you...so much."

His eyes fluttered shut in contentment. "You know I will," he promised in a voice no louder than a whisper. "I love you too."


	7. Abomination

Abomination

Night had fallen again when Jasper walked through the barn doors, exuding undeniable authority.

"Alright!" he barked, demanding attention from the newborns beginning to gather around him. "I'll be sending out hunting parties. You'll split up into three groups." His eyes shifted to Lucy. "You'll be with me, as well as Daniel and the children."

Lucy reached out a hand, tucking Daniel into her side. He looked up at her with questioning eyes. She had been very worried as of late and he couldn't help but notice that it had something to do with the young new vampires. Instantly he found Emily among them and offered her a weak smile.

"Nettie!" he snapped. "You'll be taking David, Zachariah, Conner and Jack."

Nettie cast Jasper a sullen look before motioning for the two newborns to follow her. Without hesitation she sprinted from the barn, eager to be on her own with the ground flying beneath her. It provided a sensation of freedom, however false.

"Michael and John, you'll head the final group." He gestured between them and turned toward some newer additions whose names he didn't know. "The rest of you will go with them."

He motioned for Lucy, Daniel, Emily and the others to follow him and swept out of the barn with the assumption they'd follow.

Lucy averted her eyes from the children, keeping them locked straight ahead in between furtive glances at Daniel. She purposefully placed herself between him and the young vampire he had taken a liking to, intent on keeping them apart as much as she could. She knew why Maria had created her and the others like her and there was nothing there but heartbreak for the boy. Besides, she didn't want Maria to group him with them. Maria had made her a promise not to harm him but Maria's promises were upheld at her whim and Lucy knew that all too well.

Once outside the barn she prodded Daniel forward so that they could take position by Jasper, leaving Emily and the other children to follow.

Jasper's eyes drifted over his shoulder to the children and Emily in particular, wanting to make sure she was close behind. He was under strict orders not to allow anything to happen to them, but he knew that, more than anything, he couldn't allow anything to Emily. He would be keeping a close eye on her.

Emily returned Jasper's gaze, her expression reflecting the apprehension she felt.

_Where are we going? He said hunting parties. Are we going to...kill people?_

All the other child vampires hissed and spit at her and Emily cringed. She could no more stop herself from projecting her thoughts as she could stop herself from thinking them or from feeling the aching burn that seemed to light her entire body on fire. Frustration colored her mood as she reached up to rub her throat, wishing for an end to the agony.

The fear she felt and the sadness due to the separation from her family hung in the air in a thick cloud of toxic fog. The others were lucky that they weren't constantly receiving waves of the maddening emotions that went with her thoughts. Jasper offered her a brittle smile that quickly became strained with pain. He squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden onslaught of images, but nothing he could do would keep them out. His eyes snapped open, tearing away from the child to focus straight ahead.

Keeping his eyes off the child didn't stop the strange instinctual feeling to protect her when the others threatened her, however. His muscles stiffened and the urge to rip them all apart coursed through his body. Should he do that though, Maria would rip them both apart in sheer rage. It was that thought that kept him from acting out.

Lucy closed her eyes for a moment against the child's thoughts. It was bad enough that she and the others existed but being forced to hear the innocence of her inescapable musings was almost unbearable. She had entertained the idea of killing the child herself but had refrained from doing so due to Maria's direct order and Jasper's obvious fondness of the girl. Her eyes shifted to him now with pity. It seemed Daniel wasn't the only one who stood to be hurt when Maria gave the order to dispose of her and the others.

Jasper caught Lucy's gaze in his peripheral vision and shifted his own eyes to meet hers, swallowing against the swirl of emotions coming his way. It was useless to appear strong and detached in front of her. She already knew his weakness. "I'm fine," he mumbled.

_But I don't want to kill people. I don't like it…_

Emily's thoughts filtered in everyone's minds again and another round of howls and hisses went up from the vampire children, many of whom turned to look back at her with malice and hatred.

"We're going to feed, yes," Daniel said, turning back to look at Emily. "It's okay. You get...used to it."

"Daniel!" Lucy's voice was sharp, cutting into him like steel. "What have I told you?"

Daniel faced forward again as he ran. He didn't understand why Lucy was acting the way she was. The girl was hardly a threat to him or anyone. She was timid, shy... What was there to fear?

Jasper dropped back to Emily's side and released a small dose of his calming influence to fog over her fears and anxiety, her sadness. He secretly hoped it would raise the morale of the rest of the group as well as his own. The emotions were cutting into him like whips and he wasn't sure if he could take it much longer.

Emily felt another wave of calm sweeping over her and blinked a few times trying to shake it. Calm was the last thing she should be feeling and as always she wondered where it came from. She looked around her, watching as the others settled into the same numb state of being, all of them running together. It reminded her of the flocks of birds she had watched fly over the fields of her family farm. The fields she had worked so tirelessly to help her mother tend after her father had left in his uniform. A vision of him came to life in her mind and though she wanted to both smile and cry at the image she felt she could do nothing but stare.

Jasper's eyes shifted down to the young girl as more pictures flooded his mind, images of fields, hard labor, and the vision of a man that seemed to stand out stronger than the others. His heart wrenched in the realization that this man was most likely the child's father. Pain swept through his eyes, as he tore them away from her, once again locking them ahead.

Emily remained focused on the image of her father, watching him walk away down the road with his rifle. On her last night as a human, they had been having a party to celebrate the news that her father and many of the other children's fathers would soon be coming home. She wondered what he had thought when he had arrived at the house to find nothing but bodies. All but hers. Had he looked for her? Was he looking still?

No amount of concentration could blot out the images swirling inside of Jasper's head. His eyes strained against them as he sniffed the air to pick up a trail, anything to take him away from the turmoil the child was experiencing.

"Your father was a soldier?" Daniel asked. "I was a drummer myself. Got shot in battle and would have died if Lucy hadn't found me. Jasper was a soldier, too. Weren't you, Jasper?

"Yes, I was a Major for the Confederate Army," he explained, shifting a quick look to Daniel, then to Emily.

Lucy reached out to give the boy a hard little shake. "Daniel! Enough!"

Emily tugged at Jasper's sleeve as they ran, her eyes earnest. "Do they teach soldiers how to take care of kittens? I had a kitten, a little gray one named Buttons and I'm afraid that Poppa won't know how often to feed her now that I'm gone."

Mental images of a little gray kitten flooded into his mind, of her playing with it, holding it. "I'm sure your kitten will be fine," he assured her with a weak smile. "Your father will figure something out. I wouldn't worry too much."

Lucy almost choked on the surge of emotions that rose within her despite the calm that Jasper had projected upon them all. Reaching down she grabbed Daniel's hand and increased her speed until the two of them were far ahead. She could take no more and she was embarrassed to admit that she would be glad when the child was dead. She should never have been created. She was an abomination, torturing them all with her sweet little face and her innocent thoughts. It was worse than the hottest fires of hell.

Emily nodded thoughtfully, unable to feel anything other than sedate and calm. Maybe she wasn't herself anymore since she'd been changed into this thing, she mused. Maybe being like this was comparable to how caterpillars went into cocoons and came out butterflies, only somehow not as good or beautiful. She didn't want to kill anyone else like she had that woman. It made the burn go away for a time but it made her feel so bad afterwards. Her momma and poppa wouldn't like her doing that.

"Did you ever have a kitten?" Emily asked, her blood red eyes shifting up to him with all the innocence of the child she had been.

Her question caught Jasper off guard. He tilted his head toward her in a quizzical manner.

"A kitten? Um, I don't…remember," he admitted, furrowing his eyebrows together thoughtfully. "My human life is not something I can easily recall."

Emily's eyebrows knitted together. "Did you forget?"

"I guess you could say that." His lips spread into a scant smile. "The only thing I remember is the war. I suppose that's because those are the memories that were the freshest on my mind, the strongest. After you're turned, you tend to forget being human."

"Am I going to forget my parents and my sisters?"

"No. If you haven't already, then more than likely you won't. If you're going to forget something, it happens right after the transformation. What sticks with you afterward is what you'll remember."

Emily frowned. "I was hoping that I would. I don't want to remember them anymore. It hurts too much and it makes the others mad at me."

"I'm sorry," Jasper mumbled, his expression saddening. _It__won't__last__much__longer_, he added in thought.

The scent of blood registered with Lucy and she took a deep breath in gratitude. Her thirst grew and consumed her to the point of forgetting Emily and her childish inner monologue. "To the east," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. She knew Jasper would hear.

The moment the blood hit the air, Jasper's thirst flared, each breath he took setting a fire in his throat. He nodded in agreement to Lucy and watched as she and Daniel headed that direction. The smell hit the others a second later, their low grumbles and hisses attesting to their thirst as they took flight after them.

Jasper started to follow the others but Emily grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop with a strength that was at odds with her small size. He turned toward her with eyes a deep crimson from the lust to feed. She was hesitant, he could sense that and almost immediately, his expression softened.

"I don't want to." Her pleading eyes found his in the semi-dark. "I mean, I do but I don't." She swallowed a mouthful of venom, wincing with the pain it caused, conflict evident in her expression.

Jasper knelt down, taking her little hands into his, his eyes filled with sympathy for her fear. "It's okay. I know you're scared but it gets easier. You'll just have to trust me. You need to feed."

Her eyes grew wide. "What happens if I don't?"

Jasper frowned. "Your throat will burn hot, making it almost impossible to bear."

"But I won't die." She turned her face away from his and looked down at the ground. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"I can't say what it'll do to you first hand but I doubt it's pleasant. You're too young to be able to withstand it for long, and if you do, you're likely to go insane from the constant excruciating burn."

For a moment Emily looked as though she would cry but then she simply nodded and broke away from him, running after the others. Jasper rose to his feet, swallowing a mouthful of venom and sprinted after her.

As the air became heavier with the scent of blood, Jasper's hunger became all consuming, as he yearned to quench the undying thirst to which he had become a slave. As they approached, an orange glow in the darkness broke through the horizon. It was just a pin drop in the pitch black evening sky but he knew it for what it was. He could smell the embers, the smoke it cast off. It was a fire.

As they drew closer, shapes took form around it and tents sat behind it. Men, about twenty, were sitting around the fire passing a bottle. But there was no banjo music, not like before when he and Maria had taken the children. No, these men were soldiers, ripe with despair and longing.

Heartbeats drifted on the breeze and along with them the tempting scents. He noted thirty humans in total. Twenty heartbeats were coming from the men sitting around the fire and another ten drifted in from the background. Officers planning in their tents, men sleeping. His lips curled into a smile tinged with excitement and hunger and his voice came sharp. "Get ready. We're to kill everyone in the camp. No survivors."

He doubted there would be much problem with that. His footsteps slowed to a slow creep, his eyes darting back to Emily who had been hesitant before. His expression instantly softened. "If you'd like help, just let me know." But he already knew he'd be watching her like a hawk anyway because of the others. She didn't show the violent tendencies that they did, so should a fight break out, it was very likely she'd get ripped apart.

Lucy followed Jasper's gaze to Emily and then shifted it to the other children. "This could get ugly," she warned. "You had better maintain tight control. The little ones are even more insatiable than full sized newborns and—"

Before Lucy could even finish her sentence, several of the children were leaping out from the shadows and descending upon the camp. They jumped onto the closest soldiers like demons newly released from hell, quickly seeking out their necks and plunging their teeth into them with greedy enthusiasm.

What was peaceful only a moment before with nothing but the sounds of crickets and chatter was now replaced with screams and chaos. Jasper sprung from cover, heading directly for a fleeing human. He managed to take him down and silence his screams before he could get far.

Lucy leapt into the fray with Daniel in tow, quickly catching a few of the other humans before they could run. The rest of the children followed suit, swarming the remaining soldiers and feeding on them with maniacal glee. Only one refrained, her thirst warring with her revulsion as she ran away from the slaughter. Emily's chest heaved, each breath bringing her another scorching wave of flames which burned into the very core of her being and tempting her to turn back and give in to her instincts.

Her footsteps were beginning to falter as the officers, drawn by the screaming, flooded from their tents before her. She dug her feet into the earth coming to a stop before them, her eyes wide with fear.

"What in the hell—?"

The men stood, staring in confusion and disbelief at the madness before them until one looked down and caught sight of Emily with her eyes as red as blood. He drew his pistol, barely able to hold it in his trembling hand and aimed it at her. Stumbling backwards, she screamed and raised her hands to cover her head.

Jasper was already on to his second victim, a young officer by the look of the coat. His hand snapped the young man's head to the side and quickly brought his teeth to penetrate the flesh. Sweet relief came with the flow of blood, warm and quenching and he tightened his grip around the man, eager to draw from him every last drop. While he fed, he caught sight of Emily, scared and cowering as an officer shakily pointed a gun at her.

Jasper dropped his meal and sprinted toward them at full speed. His hand closed around the officer's throat and in one swift movement he slammed the officer to the ground. Deep burgundy eyes flashed to Emily, beckoning her to come and feed.

The remaining officers scattered around them, quickly being picked off by the other children, Daniel and Lucy. The screams continued as Emily stared down at the man Jasper held captive, her desire to put an end to the burning in her throat growing more and more urgent with the air so thick with the scent of blood.

She felt she would go mad from it if she didn't give in and yet it seemed so wrong. She tried to look away from the fear in the man's eyes but it resonated with her, compelling her to hold his gaze. A tortured yowl rose from behind her clenched teeth as she fought to resist, all the while the constant beating of the man's heart echoed in her ears, calling to her, begging her to taste. It was relentless, irresistible.

She crept forward, her hands opening and closing into tight little fists over and over, her head shaking slightly from side to side as she continued to fight the temptation. But still she took another step toward him, and another…

Jasper smiled in encouragement. "It's okay," he coaxed. "That's it. You'll grow used to it." He watched her tentatively, taking in the hesitation in her approach.

His voice was soft, beautiful, and it drew her in, promising relief if she would just stop fighting and give herself over to instinct. She wanted blood. It wasn't a question. She could almost feel it now, flooding into her mouth and taking away the hurt as it filled her, made her feel whole again…

In the next instant she had fallen to her knees and had grabbed the man from Jasper, pulling him to her and sinking her teeth into his neck. The blood flowed readily, the struggles of her victim fading away as she drained him of it. For a moment she almost choked in revulsion but disgust quickly turned to absolute pleasure. Jasper released his grip and simply watched.

A newborn girl, brunette, came to stand over them both, her lips pulled back in a snarl. Crouching she reached for the man, intent on ripping him away from Emily and stealing what was left of his blood. Emily clutched the man tighter, a growl rising up from her chest as she braced herself to protect her prey.

Jasper's lips pulled back to bear his teeth. He spat out a hiss, stiffening in defense of the little blonde vampire at the newborn's approach. One furtive glance checked to make sure Emily had a secure hold on her meal before predatory, calculating eyes turned back on the brunette.

The newborn eyed Jasper for a moment, her gaze shooting between him and the man whose life was quickly fading away as she judged whether it was worth the fight. Finally deciding that she couldn't hope to win, she slunk off toward the others.

Only when the newborn backed off did Jasper's tension begin to fade. The sound of the little blonde vampire sucking her victim bone dry behind him was soothing, but it didn't stop him from scanning the darkness for more threats.

Lucy came running in from the trees with Daniel, having finished feeding off the last of the soldiers who had managed to make it that far in their attempt at escape. She was holding her knife and, moving with a purpose, she began mutilating the remaining bodies so as to alter the evidence of their attack. Daniel made no effort to help her. Instead he took the opportunity to wander over to Jasper and Emily.

Two new scents drifted on the air among the many swirling around them. He stiffened out of instinct and watched with wary eyes as Lucy and Daniel quickly approached. Sliding a few steps back into a crouch, he trained his eyes on Daniel. The boy wasn't a threat in the least but his guard was so quickly raised nowadays that it didn't take much more than a glance.

Emily gave Daniel a wary glance as he approached, her mouth still clamped over the man's neck. There wasn't much blood left but now that she had started she found she was loath to surrender him. She drank deeper, more desperately, eager to gain every last drop from his corpse before she finally relinquished him and let his body fall to the ground before her. Where before she would have looked upon what she had done with horror, she now only felt regret that there wasn't more to be had.

"Is everything alright?" Daniel asked, taking in the way her eyebrows puckered together, her bloodstained lips as they turned down in the most pitiful of frowns.

"I'm still thirsty," she whispered. "Will it ever go away?"

Jasper relented and let Daniel pass as he turned toward Emily, his lips pressing into a frown. "No, I'm afraid it won't. It'll only get harder to resist."

"Are there no more?" she asked, looking around them at the lifeless bodies on the ground. "How long will it be before the next time?"

"No, not at this camp. They're gone." He frowned, nudging the corpse with his foot and raising his eyes to the other bodies spotting the ground. "Don't worry, I'll take you out."

Daniel frowned. "Did she only get the one?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he said, with a slight shake of his head. He sighed shifting his eyes to Daniel. "I'll make sure she gets fed. Don't worry."

"Can I come as well?" Daniel's eyes lit up and he slipped an arm around Emily's shoulders. "I wouldn't be any trouble."

"You most certainly may not."

Lucy suddenly stood before them, her voice like ice as her eyes roved over the way Emily and Daniel stood together. When she turned her gaze on Jasper it could have burnt him to ash. "What did I ask of you? Do you not remember?"

Jasper frowned, his eyes drifting over to Daniel. "It's probably best if you stay with Lucy." Had he and Lucy not had that conversation earlier, he wouldn't have taken so kindly to her bold move.

Daniel tightened his arm around Emily and she looked up at him with questioning eyes. "I don't understand why either of you are being this way. You're trying to keep me away from her and there's no reason!"

"There is every reason!" Lucy seethed. "You will listen to me whether you agree with what I say or not. Now come away, Daniel!"

Emily huddled into Daniel's side. Lucy scared her. The looks the older vampire often cast her way had not been lost on her despite how new she was to this life. It was different than the way the others looked at her with malice and loathing. Lucy's eyes were too shrewd, calculating. She looked to Jasper, somehow sensing that what he said overruled anyone else aside from the one she feared the most. Maria.

Jasper wedged himself in between the children and Lucy. "I would advise you to remember your place, Lucy," he hissed through tightly clenched teeth. He reigned in his temper almost as quickly as it had flared. She was walking a fine line. His eyes flashed to Daniel and Emily. "Next time," he promised. "For now, you'll stay with Lucy."

Next time. Lucy gritted her teeth, unsure whether Jasper actually meant for there to be a next time or whether he was simply saying it because he felt sure that there wouldn't be one. The child was scheduled to die along with the others. She took a deep breath, reassuring herself that this madness would soon be over.

Daniel reluctantly moved away from Emily and moved to stand by Lucy but not before he gave her one last longing look and in that moment his feelings toward her were clear. He fancied himself in love with her and he was also suspicious that something was going on. Lucy wanted him to stay away from Emily and the other children. That seemed to be the key and he was determined to find out why.

Lucy spun Daniel around by the shoulders and ushered him away, content for now to have gotten her way. She lead him towards the other children but still kept him a distance away as she herded them into a tightly knit group and ordered them all to stay put. A quick scan of them assured her that they were all accounted for.

Emily stared after Daniel, even enjoying the smile that he graced her with when Lucy wasn't looking. She ducked her head slightly, smiling back in spite of herself. "Why doesn't Lucy want Daniel around me?"

Jasper watched them go, his eyes following Lucy's retreating form every step of the way. "Lucy's very peculiar about Daniel. Just do as she says and it will all be fine." He turned to her and bent down, taking her little hands into his own, his eyes intense. "You mustn't leave my sight okay? Do you understand?"

Emily nodded, her eyes wide. "Will something bad happen if I do?"

Jasper's expression turned serious. "Something could, yes."

"But not if I stay with you?"

"No, I won't let anyone harm you," he replied as his lips quirked into a smile. He reached out and tweaked her nose playfully. "We should catch up to the others. We'll talk in a while once we get them back to the barn," he explained as he rose to his feet.

Emily smiled, feeling safe for the first time since she had opened her eyes to this new life. She stayed just behind him, using him as a shield to keep her partially hidden from the others. Her thoughts shifted to Daniel again, replaying in her mind the way he had smiled at her.

Jasper led the way, assessing the newborns who were currently contained and controlled. "Well done," he praised Lucy, his lips curving into an appreciative smile.

"They seem to be a bit more calm after feeding," Lucy agreed, her tone grim. "It won't last."

"No, we'll need to get them back to the barn as soon as possible." Jasper's eyes moved off of Lucy to the newborns standing around her. "Let's move out!" he commanded.

Paranoid eyes cast onto the little blonde vampire at his side. So long as she stayed next to him she would be safe. He was relieved to find she was still there and hadn't, in fact, drifted off toward Daniel. His eyes widened in the realization that she might and in that instant he locked a secure arm around her.

"I'm still here," Emily whispered, raising her face up to his.

Lucy held Daniel back as the newborns started running in the direction of the barn. Once she felt enough distance had passed she released her hold on him and beckoned him forth so that they could run behind them. She cast one last look at Jasper taking in the way he sheltered Emily before she and the children disappeared into the trees.

Once Lucy, Daniel and the others were out of sight, Jasper released his grip from around Emily's shoulders and started off into the trees after the others, turning only to beckon Emily to follow. Emily didn't hesitate, sprinting off after him and running close to his side.

"Where were you today?" she asked. "You left and only came back when it was dark."

Jasper considered her words, frowning. What he and Maria had truly been doing was not something he cared to share with anyone, let alone a child. "I was with Maria. We were going over battle plans." They cut a line through the trees, keeping a safe distance from the others. Paranoia drove Jasper to keep Emily away from them.

Emily's worried eyes flew to his face. "Battle plans? Are you going to be fighting someone?"

Jasper instantly regretted his words. He kept his gaze frozen ahead though he was fully aware of her eyes burning into him. "Yes, for territory," he admitted, pursing his lips together. "For food."

"Who do you fight?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Other vampires?"

Jasper nodded, reluctantly shifting his eyes down to meet her questioning stare. "Yes," he mumbled in a voice as soft as velvet.

"Is there not enough food for everyone? I don't understand."

He'd already said more then he'd planned. Instead of answering, he let the question go unanswered and ignored her, continuing on the course laid out before them. His eyes lingered on her only a moment before they returned to the path ahead and silence fell across them like a thick fog.

Fear coursed through her. If Jasper had to fight for food then why had more vampires been made? Why had she been made? Why hadn't they just fed from her? Why hadn't she died like her mother and her sisters? Her questions echoed in Jasper's mind as clearly as if she had spoken them aloud.

Numbness fell across his expression as terror coursed through his veins at the realization of what he'd just done. Should Maria find out, it would be disastrous. She would fly into a rage and most certainly kill Emily, possibly even him. His mind failed to shun her questions however, the images Emily was projecting.

A strange mixture of emotion flashed across his face before his pleading eyes sought her own. "You mustn't speak a word of this to anyone." His voice dropped to a harsh, desperate whisper. "Promise me that you won't. Not even to Daniel."

Emily found she couldn't even draw a breath. Her steps faltered and she stumbled to a halt, her eyes impossibly huge in her pale little face. "Am I fighting? Myself and the others?"

Jasper stopped. He turned, dropping down to his knees to take her little hands into his, squeezing them. The crimson depths of his eyes searched hers. "You need to promise me that you'll not tell." His words rang with desperation. "Stay close to me, like I said. That's the only thing you need to worry about."

Emily nodded, wide eyed and unable to stop herself from shaking with fear. "I promise," she whispered.

"Thank you," he whispered, tearing his eyes away from her when the images flooded through. The fleeting thought to tell her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her crossed his mind, but he couldn't say it, knowing that it wasn't true. If she didn't die in battle, Maria would order her killed. How would he be able to do it? He had killed many newborns at her bidding but how would he ever find it in himself to do this?

Emily contemplated the question burning in her mind for a long while before she voiced it, so long that Jasper had heard it many times before it crossed her lips. "The vampires that must be fought, are they as big as the ones in the barn? Big like John and the others like him?"

"Yes," he admitted softly, lowering his gaze to hers once more. "They are."

In her mind she envisioned John and then thought of herself standing next to him. The difference between them in size was dramatic and staggering. She shuddered at the image and gripped Jasper's hands even more tightly.

Jasper clenched his eyes shut against the image, the tremble in her hands ripping through him like a jolt of electricity. His hands fell slack from hers and he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm scared," she breathed, burrowing her face into his chest.

"I know," he whispered, his arms tightening around her to quell the trembling in her tiny frame.

"I wish she'd killed me that night like she killed Anne and Catherine, like you killed…" Her words died in her throat. She couldn't even be mad at him for it. She couldn't feel anything but overwhelming fear at the waking nightmare she found herself in. She just wanted it to be over. She wanted to go to sleep forever like they had and never wake up again.

"I know. I'm sorry." He forced the words out, his tone wrought with sadness. An apology was all that he could offer her for the horrors that had been done to her both by him and Maria. The fear, the sadness radiating off of her was almost too much to bear.

"Who am I to judge you anymore?" Her words were muffled in his shirt. "I have killed people myself now and I ache to kill again."

Jasper swallowed. "That's what we are. We kill. And we keep killing."

There was little chance that she would survive the battle. His mind wandered to the possibility of killing her there, ending her suffering quickly rather than watch her be torn apart viciously in the throes of battle. His fingers curled into fists of restraint against the fabric of her dress before they went lax. Killing her wasn't an option.

And now he had to take her back to face her fate. Sending her away was not an option either. Maria would notice if she went missing and she'd be furious. She'd track her down and kill her and possibly kill him as well. Still he would find a way to save her. There had to be a way…

Memories of the change flooded her mind, each one focusing on the pain, the agony it had been. She wondered if it would hurt very much to die a second time. But perhaps Jasper would keep her safe. Perhaps if she just stayed close to him like he said, everything would be alright.

Jasper's eyes once again squeezed shut against the images she put in his mind, his own painful memories of the change flooding to the surface, memories that had long lay dormant within him. Jasper sighed, the parental feeling within him split his frozen heart down the middle. The drive to protect her and throw caution into the wind warred against the feeling of despair and hopelessness, knowing that he would be able to do nothing.

Her arms wrapped around her neck, her little fingers curling into his hair where they brushed several raised scars. She was familiar with the feel. She had run her fingertips over the one marring her own neck many times in the last few days. But he had so many…

She pulled away from him to find them with her eyes. There were more along his neck and staring at them she wondered how she had missed them before. "Are those from fighting?"

Jasper leveled her with a sober look. "Yes," he replied. Most of them were. Some were from Maria but, as scared as she was, that knowledge was not something she needed.

Her hand fluttered to her own scar, remembering how badly it had hurt. She thought of that same pain repeated over and over again and she shuddered.

The wind shifted and the burn in her throat caused an involuntary hiss to escape from between her teeth, her heading turning in the direction of the scent. Blood. It was a siren song calling to her across the miles, relentless and inescapable. Her appetite, however, was now not as strong as it had been. The hesitation had crept back in and she sighed, unable to be rid of the desire to feed despite her revulsion for it, for what she had become.

The flare in Jasper's throat answered hers as the wind shifted and his eyes traveled in the direction of the scent. Venom instantly flooded his mouth at the prospect of feeding, even though he could feel her dread. "Come on," he coaxed, sliding out of her grasp. One hand took hers as he stood. "You should feed again."

Emily looked down at the ground, nodding slightly. Instead of dragging her feet she instead burst forth in a run, eager to find the source of the scent, feed, and have the whole awful thing over with. "Are we going back after?"

With each new breath he took, a new wave of flames coursed down his throat. Blood. It smelled so good, a siren's song of promise. When Emily took off so did he, flying after her in a streaky blur, the forest whipping around them in blurred walls of green and brown. "Yes," he answered simply, moving around her to run beside her.

"And how long until we have to fight?" her voice was steady, even, resigned.

Jasper's eyes flashed to hers. "She didn't say, but I'm sure it's soon."

Another flare of fear made her feel cold inside. "Can we...die? I mean, I'm already dead, right?"

"We can be killed, yes." Jasper sighed, knowing he'd already said too much. "Only by our own kind, though." His eyes flashed to her, examining her expression and reading the fear flooding in waves off of her. "Don't be scared." He applied a little of his own calming influence to counter act that fear. The promise to keep her safe bubbled on his lips but he couldn't bring himself to utter the words, knowing that they could be a lie.

That same strange sense of calm washed over her but Emily didn't fight it. It felt better than being frightened. "Do you ever feel afraid when you fight the others?"

Jasper gave a small smile the moment Emily's tension began to melt away from her body. "No," he replied. "There's no room for fear in a life such as mine."

The scent of blood was getting closer and Emily embraced the feeling of calm that surrounded her. It helped her to tolerate the burning. "How long have you been like this? Daniel said you were a soldier in the war."

"Since last year. I was looking for stragglers on an otherwise abandoned road when I saw them." A flicker of pain passed across his expression but he didn't look at her. "I was a major in the first cavalry unit. My gift allows me to hold a measure of control over the newborns. Had it not been for that, I doubt I would've lasted this long myself. Maria has a very short use for newborns. They serve their purpose and then they're disposed of. By me."

Emily listened with wide eyes, realizing just how violent a world she now found herself thrust in. "Your gift?"

Jasper's lips curved into an amused smile. "You act surprised. Yes I, like you, am gifted. I'm an empath. I can feel what others feel around me and control their emotions with my own. I had a very hard time adjusting. Like you, I had something of a conscience left over from the man I once had been. I suppose being an empath probably had something to do with it. To have to feel everything your victims are feeling, to know their terror... But I quickly learned that there is no place for a conscience in this life. There is no place for regret. You simply do as you are told and you survive."

Emily's eyes lit up at the possibility. "If I listen really well, if I do what I'm supposed to, then I'll be fine?"

That was a loaded question, one that Jasper found himself struggling over to answer. Answering yes would be a lie and answering no would scare her. "If you listen and do as told, you might be."

She nodded, her expression one of awe and fear. "I will. I promise."

His eyes moved to Emily, their depths were layered in sadness. "I fear that if she finds out about my attachment to you, she'll get angry."

"Will she...kill me?"

Jasper nodded. "She'll kill both of us."

Emily snagged Jasper's sleeve and stopped running, pulling him to a stop beside her. "Maybe we shouldn't be here, without the others. We should go back!"

Jasper whirled on her as a wave of fear rolled into him. "You've only had one. You need to feed. She won't be angry over it. I'll be sure to explain why I've kept you out."

Emily turned in the direction of the blood smell which was so close she could almost taste its promise of relief. Still she didn't let go of his sleeve. "She frightens me. She's not like you."

Jasper's throat flared against the smell. His eyes, awash with the pain it inflicted, cast down on her. "You're wrong," he said, his voice muted.

Her fingers relaxed and her hands fell away as she took a few steps back from him. There was no one she could trust then and sadness swelled to match her fear. Without further hesitation she darted forward toward the scent calling to her, eager to try and tame at least one of the aches that tormented her.

Jasper's lips pressed together. Her release and sudden feelings of distrust hit him like knife tearing into his flesh. When she flew forward to leave him behind he hesitated. "Emily, wait." He outstretched a hand to her. "I would never hurt you." Not intentionally anyway, he thought.

Emily ignored him and kept running, driven by an insatiable hunger that added self loathing to her confusion swirl of emotions. A small house came into view and she ran up the porch to the door and ripped it off its hinges. Throwing it aside she disappeared inside with a vicious little snarl.

Jasper sighed and took off after her, letting the instinct to feed take control of him. By the time he managed to get within sight of the house the door was already open and Emily was inside. He flew across the lawn like a bullet and streaked through the door, heading directly toward the stairs. "Emily!" His voice was barely above a harsh whisper, crackling against the charred cavity of his throat.

Inside there was a trail of carnage. The upstairs hallway contained two broken bodies, an adult male and a female, both lifeless and drained. Bloody handprints marred the wall leading toward a back bedroom and in the dim light Emily sat, a boy older than her by a few years clutched to her, her teeth already at his neck. As he, too, ran dry she released him, his body falling to the floor with a sickening this. Emily followed, collapsing into a pitiful heap and sobbing like a lost little girl.

The stench of death hung in the atmosphere. A lingering tenor of terror touched his skin but, like the scent of blood, it was beginning to grow cold and distant. His eyes remained locked on the ceiling as he began his ascent up the stairs. "Emily," he breathed in a harsh whisper, straining in to hear the labored breathing of one individual. The only individual in the house.

When he reached the top of the stairs, his eyes swept the bloody hallway in sickened horror. Such were the capabilities of an uncontrolled newborn. He'd been a fool to be so blind to think she would be different and yet, in some ways, she was different. It was something that he inherently knew. The boards creaked under his feet while his hand skimmed along the bloody prints on the wall in search of Emily.

Her scent, still as innocent as apple pie but stained with death, led him to the farthest bedroom in the back. Coming to stand in the doorway, he saw her. She was sitting in the middle of the floor sobbing with her last victim lying limply beside her. "Emily?" his voice came off weak and small, a helpless tension rolling through him.

He crossed the floor in several quick strides and dropped down beside her. Pain worked its way into his muscles, the intense fear and revulsion like daggers piercing his flesh.

She looked up at him, her pitiful eyes glowing an even brighter read with the fresh blood coursing through her veins, her bottom lip trembling.

"This is what I am now," she whispered. "It's no use to try and fight it."

"No, no there is no use," he mumbled in a voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry." Sincerity rang in his tone, his eyes moving back to meet with hers, the sting of them so cruel that he was half tempted to avert his gaze again but he didn't. Instead, he reached out and clasped a hand over hers. "But know that you're not alone."

Emily's sobs quieted. Not knowing what to say and still feeling mistrustful she simply sat there looking at the floor. "We should get back. I don't want to make her angry."

A shiver of fear danced along her skin. She stood and walked into the hallway, running her fingers slowly across her bloody handprints on the wall before she started down the stairs.

Jasper rose to his feet and followed close behind. Words were lost to him, the silence impenetrable and completely overwhelming. Her feelings of mistrust, confusion and fear lashed against his skin in searing strikes. Even falling back behind her as they reached the stairwell and began their descent didn't help to stay them.

Without hesitation, Emily darted out of the house, eager to leave the horrors there behind her. Once outside, she found she could clear her head a little. The fresh night air dispelled the smell of human blood.

The moment his feet touched the landing, Jasper bolted in the direction of the fireplace. It was still burning though everything in it was now reduced to glowing orange embers. Without a moment's hesitation he picked up a stray log lying next to the fire and poked it inside. A frown creased his lips as he waited rather impatiently for it to spark.

Once a small flame was licking furiously on the end of it, Jasper withdrew the log and took it upstairs to light the bodies. Making his rounds from the parents' room to the boy's, he lit the curtains as well, the bed sheets, clothing, and whatever else he could find that was flammable before throwing the log aside and leaping from the upstairs window. Before his feet barely even hit the ground, he was ghosting off into the darkness to catch up to Emily.


	8. Pawns

Pawns

Emily ran. She didn't know where she was going nor did she care. She only knew she wanted to get away, far away from that house, far away from this life, far away from everything that made up her horrifying reality.

She wondered if perhaps she could simply leave? What if she kept running and never stopped? Would Jasper follow her? Would he take her back to Maria to face her fate? A spark of hope lit within her and she ducked her head, increasing her pace until she was practically flying across the terrain, the promise of escape fueling the speed at which she ran.

Her steps faltered ever so slightly as she thought of Maria's terrible wrath. She had seen enough evidence of it to be afraid. An image of Maria's face twisted in anger flashed through her mind. She would kill her for attempting this were she caught. She might even kill Jasper.

She should have hated him, hated him for what he was, for what he did that night when he killed her mother and stole everything from her, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. He was the only one besides Daniel who had shown her even an ounce of kindness and despite the fact that he was obviously allied with Maria, she had relied upon him to keep her safe, to show her how to get out of this alive. She slowed her pace, wondering if she should listen to him now and go back?

And what of Daniel? Could she truly run away and leave him behind? Maybe he would leave with her if she asked?

The scent of fire, of things burning, caught her attention but it was Jasper's scent, growing ever close, that sent her into a panic and caused her to increase her speed once again.

"Emily!"

Her small fragile form danced just ahead, darting through the trees. The panic radiating off of her was almost tangible now. So close...

Jasper applied a sudden burst of speed to close the gap between them, his hand outstretching to her. "Emily, wait!"

Emily shook her head furiously, still running. "Just let me go! Tell her I ran away, tell her anything! Just let me go!"

He was near enough to grab her now and she realized that she wasn't fast enough to outrun him. There really was no escape to be had if he was determined to take her back.

"I can't!" Jasper grabbed her and yanked her into his arms, the iron cage of his embrace serving as a restraint against whatever feeble attempts at fighting back she might give.

"I have to take you back." Jasper breathed, applying a wave of his influence to calm her. "I'm...sorry, but to lose you would get the both of us killed."

Emily bucked and kicked against him, surprised even at her own strength before she finally heeded Jasper's words and stopped struggling. Somehow she sensed that she could have broken free if she had wanted and she probably would have done so if it weren't for the numbing wave of calm that overcame her senses and took all the fight out of her. She sagged against him, hanging limp and obedient in his arms, her mind putting up a silent fight against his gift. Images of death flashed through her mind. That was her future. Somehow she knew it. And even still, she couldn't condemn Jasper to the same fate.

Death to her would be a release. It was simply the dying part, the waiting for it, the pain that would be involved, that horrified her.

Flickers of images began to flood Jasper's mind. Images of pain and of death, morbid remembrances of the violence she had endured moments before she had begun her descent into their shared living hell. Jasper slammed his eyes shut against the onslaught but it didn't keep them from coming.

He felt undeniably cold inside. When his eyes opened again they were haunted and reflective of the thoughts coursing through his own mind. Jasper trudged onward, his arms securing Emily to his chest as he ran.

Emily watched as the world flew by in a blur with apathetic eyes. She was going back and soon she would fight with the others against an army of newborns, ones as big as John and William and all the others who stared at her with such malice and hatred. Only this time there would be no Jasper to command them to stop as they charged toward her. They would come for her and they would tear her to pieces.

She felt the need to cry, sobs rising in her throat, but they wouldn't come. She was still numb, anesthetized to every emotion except that which Jasper wanted her to feel. She remained motionless and obedient until the barn came into view. It was then that she managed a tiny whimper, closing her eyes against the unwelcome sight.

Silence ensued. When the barn came into view, Jasper slowed his pace. A sudden feeling of dread enveloped him at the sudden realization that Maria was going to be livid for their absence despite what he had told the girl. Emily's fear was slowly working its way back into the forced climate he had created as his influence began to wane. Her little whimper confirmed it.

"It's okay." Jasper tried to assure her, though it was a half hearted attempt because he couldn't be sure himself that everything would be fine. Her fear was justified. His arms squeezed around her, both out of paranoia of Maria's wrath and the innate need to protect her from the newborns as he drew near the barn and swept through the doors.

Lucy sat on the dirt floor, Daniel's head cradled in her lap. She could tell the boy hated the attention she lavished on him in front of the other newborns but she couldn't help herself. The feel of his silky brown hair sifting through her fingers was calming and she needed the comfort she found in it. Things were quickly spiraling out of control. She could sense it but most of all, she could see it in Jasper's eyes and he knew more than most.

When he walked inside the barn clutching the little blond menace to his chest, that worry was again evident in his eyes despite his attempts to guard his true feelings.

"Stay here," she whispered to Daniel as she shifted the boy's weight out of her arms and crossed quickly to Jasper.

Grasping his arm, she leaned in and placed her lips at his ear. "Maria has been livid, pacing the house and breaking things. She'll be here any moment and she'll want answers. Where the hell have you been?"

Lucy's red eyes shifted to Emily. The question was mostly rhetorical. She knew whatever Jasper had been up to it had most certainly involved the girl and his unsafe feelings regarding her.

"I took Emily hunting. She needed to feed since she wasn't able to during the hunting trip," Jasper explained, clutching Emily that much tighter. But thoughts of Maria's activities caused him to rethink his protective behavior. One whiff of it and Maria would unleash a fury he was yet to see.

Lucy stared into Jasper's eyes intently. "Is that all?"

Jasper pulled his arm from Lucy's grasp and growled softly, looking down at the child with confliction in his eyes. Her gift could possibly give them away. It could also get them both killed, should Maria see the things she knew.

"You are inviting danger, Jasper. Possibly even death. The girl's gift... Is there anything she might show Maria, anything Maria shouldn't know...?"

He lowered the girl to the ground and promptly swept her behind him before she could be exposed to the others. His eyes assessed each and every newborn before paranoia swept through him causing him to look to the barn door in alarm. "There are quite a few things that Maria shouldn't see," he admitted in a voice tinted with fear.

"Go find her. Don't let her come here. I'll watch after the girl while you're gone." Lucy reached behind him to close a firm grasp around the girl's upper arm, judging Jasper's reaction carefully as she did so. "We make a deal from here on. I help protect yours and you help protect mine."

It was clear she meant Daniel and it was also clear what she was implying about Jasper's feelings towards the girl. Lucy understood it better than anyone else could, the need to find that long lost human part of yourself, to feel something besides thirst and anger and hatred and greed. And besides, having Jasper on her side would be beneficial in her quest to keep Daniel safe. His word had always proven more meaningful than any empty promise from Maria's lips.

Jasper nodded sharply, stepping aside as Lucy reached for Emily. "A deal," he confirmed, casting a meaningful look onto Emily before turning toward the barn doors. Before disappearing into the night air, he looked back at Lucy over his shoulder. "Emily for Daniel." One sharp nod and he was spiriting out through the doors in search of Maria.

Jasper didn't have to look far. He had barely made it a few steps before he came face to face with Maria. She said nothing, merely stared at him as she stood as still as a statue, her silence eerie and foreboding. Her eyes trailed him from head to toe before ticking across his face, searching, always searching. Her own face was unreadable but her emotions were a swirling mix of mistrust and curiosity, a dangerous combination for one as powerful and as volatile as she. Only the night breeze faintly stirred her raven hair as she waited to see what he would say or do.

Jasper froze, his eyes ticking across every inch of Maria's stony features. It didn't take long for him to see the anger roiling beneath the surface. It was there in the assault of her emotions, the rigid cut to her expression. A flicker of ingrained fear passed across his face before it disappeared to give way to a wry smile.

"Maria…" he purred, reaching out to curl his fingers under her chin. "Don't be angry. The child had to eat. When we went earlier she didn't get to feed."

Maria absorbed this information with a quirk of her brow. The child had been reluctant to feed before and apparently even when she set out to do so she couldn't even secure a meal amongst her other creations. Weak, like so many others before her. Were she not intended for fodder due to her age, Maria would have torn her limb from limb, perhaps even in spite of her gift.

But until her death, she needed her obedient. None of the children could be allowed to survive or escape. It would mean all their deaths at the hands of the Volturi, something that need not happen if they were properly contained and disposed of when the time came. Suspicion lit her eyes again as she took a step closer to Jasper, running her own fingers down the chiseled marble of his face.

"Did she try to run away?"

Her voice was chilling. She had seen everything from the window of her room, had watched as Jasper had carried the child as he had emerged from the trees to slip into the barn. The girl had been complacent but even without Jasper's gift, she could smell her fear.

Jasper could feel the anger sweeping over Maria, her expression only telling a fraction of rage she was holding back. He swallowed, weighing his words carefully before revealing the truth to her. "Yes..." The admittance came in a soft whisper. "But she'll be dead soon, so it doesn't matter."

Suddenly everything inside of him felt cold as his thoughts drifted to Emily, those bothersome feelings that relentlessly plagued him. But Maria would make it go away, she would save him from them. He skimmed his nose along the cold marble surface of her neck, pressing a kiss against the scar he'd left there as his arms wrapped around her in an intimate manner. Being near her stripped away the bothersome feelings that Emily had been evoking as of late. Anger, sadness, pity and love, all sucked away into a void... Maria's presence was refreshing; around her he felt none of it, except for her over powering confidence.

"Yes. She will." Maria's face bloomed into a rather satisfied smile. "The battle is tomorrow night. I feel confident that Emilio, the coven leader, will no longer ignore the growing tension between our covens. Not after what I've done..."

His skin crawled with pleasure at the very sensation of her touch but his smile faded ever so slightly as confusion took over his expression. "W-what did you do?"

Her fingers left his face to trail possessively down his neck, his collarbone, his shoulder, his arm. "The strongest bond between our kind, the only true bond we are able to form, is that of a vampire and his or her mate."

Jasper didn't have to wait long for an answer. It came in the form of Maria's cold, slightly mocking voice.

"Like what you and I have?" he questioned. They were bonded, that much he was sure of. Even though she treated him badly on the off occasion it was because he deserved it. That had to be the reason for her behavior.

Maria nodded, her smile widening as she leaned in to brush her lips across his throat, across her scar, the one she had given him when she had turned him and made him hers forever. "I would imagine if he hasn't found her yet, he will soon." She chuckled, kissing her way up his neck and to his jaw. "While you were all hunting I made my way onto his territory and caught her alone. I could smell him on her, knew her instantly. I left her a pile of ash on the border of where his land meets mine. If it weren't for the approaching daylight he'd attack right now. As it is, I expect him as soon as night falls once again."

Jasper's eyes flooded with concern. She could've been killed going into enemy territory by herself. "You went alone? Were you hurt?" he asked. "You could've been killed." He buried his face into the crook of her neck, drawing in a deep breath of her scent to calm himself down. Her feather light kisses, so tender and sweet, quelled the concern rising within him.

"But I wasn't killed, darling. Nor was I hurt." She pulled back to give him a feline smile. His concern was almost endearing and would have been were she capable of feeling touched by such things. "I need you to get them ready for tonight's battle," she purred, locking her eyes with his. "All of them."

Jasper nodded in compliance, his eyes locked on hers. "I will. Victory will be ours. I'm very confident in that." Already, the impending battle was won in his mind. With their impenetrable defenses, they couldn't lose. There was far too much on the line to do so.

"I will leave the final plans up to you of course but I was thinking it would be best to have the children on the front line. While the opposing army is distracted with their attack, our army could sweep in from the sides." She tilted her head to the side, enjoying the idea of her strategy like a child playing with a new toy. "After all of our enemies are dead we take care of the rest of the children and also the ones who have reached the year mark. I'll have Lucy organize them into a group for a patrol of the perimeter. You go with her and the two of you can dispose of them. Once you and Lucy return, I plan on making my announcement regarding the division of our territories."

"Sounds like a plan. They'll be so preoccupied with the children that they won't even see our defenses." Jasper's lips curved into a calculating smile as he envisioned the battle front. "Hit them hard and fast, something the Confederacy called the 'shock and awe' approach." His arms pulled around her tightly in response, wanting her as close to him as possible.

He growled lips to her ear. "We can't lose," he whispered.

Jasper's eyes fluttered shut as he absorbed the sensation of her trailing fingertips. "I won't doubt you again," he promised, soaking up the warmth her touch provided. So free of those bothersome emotions was he that he felt instant relief in her presence. His arms pulled around her tightly in response, wanting her as close to him as possible.

"I was worried that you were perhaps becoming close to the gifted child," she whispered in his ear as she molded her body shamelessly to his own. "I was worried you thought me cruel like Lucy." Her fingers deftly unfastened the buttons of his pants, her hand hungrily closing around him as she turned her head and gasped against the sensitive skin of his neck.

He growled in response, grabbing her roughly by the arms and slinging her against the side of the barn. Fever bright excitement danced in his eyes, his hips smashing up against her own. "You are far too beautiful to be cruel," he hissed sharply, just before his lips descended hungrily on her throat.

Maria tilted her head back with a rapturous smile. Her beauty was one of the cruelest things about her, second only to her insatiable need for power and control. In her human life, her beauty had sustained her and kept her fed, gaining her favor in the eyes of those she served. In this life it allowed her to manipulate the ones who served her.

She brought her leg up to wrap it around Jasper's waist, the fabric of her skirts bunching up suggestively around her waist as she fisted her hands in his windblown hair. The lust and desire she felt enveloped him, intensified by his own similar feelings which left her panting with need.

Jasper traced kisses along the sensitive skin of her throat, pushing himself inside of her with a hard thrust. A low primal growl erupted from his throat, his eyes fever bright with excitement and lust. Sinking his teeth into her neck, he pushed himself further, driven by his undying need for the poison that was Maria.

Maria's head fell back, her crimson lips parting to give a wild gasp fueled by both pleasure and pain. Each delicious movement of Jasper's hips pushed her back roughly into the wall as her fingers left his hair to claw at his back, savoring the way his muscles tensed beneath her hands. She couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from her throat, laughter that quickly became primal growls as she wrapped her legs more tightly around him. This creature was hers. She had created him, seduced him and now controlled him. Her every whim was his greatest desire whether it be carnal in nature or the murdering innocent children. She possessed him, owned him, and he was her obedient servant. The power she held over him had her close to the edge, teetering on it, in danger of shattering into a million pieces as he continued his violent conquest of her body, the lust and desire emanating from him maddening in its potency.

Each push sent Jasper's excitement further toward the edge. The feelings of lust and desire emanating between them became so potent that he felt as if his body were acting of its own volition, controlled solely by his emotions. Each time she raked her nails into the marble skin of his back, he felt another surge of ecstasy mixed with pain searing through his muscles like a wild fire. She had him and there was nothing that he could do about it. His lips found hers, working hungrily to bring to light the swell of emotions filling his body like white hot light.

Everything she felt was being reflected back at her even stronger. She knew it was him, using his gift on her whether intentional or not. It was something she had expressly forbidden but in that moment she didn't care. It was too irresistible, too tempting to simply let his desire wash over her and completely overwhelm her, hurling her toward the brink where she couldn't even remember her name. She tensed around him, her fingernails puncturing his skin as she grasped onto his shoulders, onto anything.

A scream tore its way from her throat as she slumped against him, letting her head come to rest against his shoulder as she fought to catch breath she didn't need. Her muscles were limp and useless and never had she felt so weak before, as helpless as a kitten in his arms. It made her uncomfortable and yet it was so oddly appealing, feeling safe and secure in his embrace. She blinked a few times, taking the sensation in. For once she didn't feel completely in control and as unsettling as it was she found herself turning her head and burying her face in his hair.

His muscles ached for her, so close to the edge that he felt he might teeter over it. Suddenly everything building up inside of him released in an explosion of blinding white light. He sucked in several sharp breaths of her malignant scent and closed his eyes, collapsing against her and allowing himself to be lulled by her presence.

"Jasper," she whispered. "You can't ever leave me. I've never said this to anyone before but...I need you."

The words fell from her lips without any conscious thought and the vulnerability there surprised even her. She wasn't pretending anymore, telling him what she thought he needed to hear in order to gain his loyalty, his obedience. As she took a deep breath of his scent she realized that she had real feelings for him, this vampire she had created and trained and turned into an equal. A vampire with as insatiable an appetite for blood and conquest as her. She might even venture to say that she loved him, possibly more than she had loved anyone before.

Waves of insecurity hit him and, assuming that had something to do with her admittance, he comforted her by pulling her into his arms and burying his face into her hair. "Everything will be okay. I'll never leave. I promise." Jasper whispered the words in a single breath, his lips grazing her ear. "I love you, Maria."

She shook her head slightly, trying to clear the remaining fog of his influence in an attempt to see if it was simply that that had elicited the declaration from her lips. But her head felt clear and she still meant her words. She tightened her grip around him, pressing her lips to his neck, to the scar she had left there the night she turned him, the one that marked him as belonging to her.

"I love you, too," she lied, smoothly sending him another wave of lust to confuse him and keep him from picking up on the deception in her words. She felt something but love? She didn't even know if such an emotion were possible for their kind.

Jasper stiffened in response to the sensation of her lips upon his neck and closed his eyes to it, greedily soaking up her lust and desire. Something about the way she touched him always washed away the things that he wished he couldn't remember. When he was with her it was blissful. There were no horrific images, no feelings of guilt or regret, just unadulterated pleasure.

Maria sighed, her breath dancing across his marble skin. "You should get inside, get them ready. I expect the opposing army at nightfall. They have almost thirty newborns, very young and very strong. Our sixteen newborns would have been decimated if not for the children. The twelve of them should be enough to tip the odds in our favor." She pulled back and stared into his eyes for a moment before she lifted a hand to cup his cheek. "That and our newborns are much better trained, something I credit entirely to you."

Jasper nodded once sharply. "As you wish. I don't expect they'll see it coming, the children." His lips curved into a smile as he mused the words over. Chased away by Maria, the feelings he carried for the little vampire with the blonde hair were momentarily dulled but they were still there at the back of his mind, though nearly forgotten. She would be fighting as well, completely unexempt from the battle.

"No, they won't." Maria's lips turned up in a feline smile. "It's never been done before. When they were created, many years ago, they were created out of love by vampires who longed for children, who wanted to pretend that we were something other than what we are. But immortal children cannot control their impulses, making them even more vicious than newborns. And so, while they are outlawed to live amongst us, they do make rather proficient killing machines. Even untrained they should pose quite a threat to Emilio and the bumbling newborns that pass for his army."

"They lack planning, battle tactics and discipline. Our newborns will be better prepared. I'm hoping it will give us enough of an edge to win, despite the odds." He pressed his lips together in thought, momentarily taking his eyes off of Maria. "I'll prepare them." A hint of sadness layered his tone as he pulled back from her and prepared to leave.

She let her fingertips trail across his collarbone and down his arm before her hand finally fell away, a wistful smile on her lips. She turned and walked towards the house, the first rays of sunlight dancing across her alabaster skin and sifting through the raven tresses of her hair.

"I know you will. You've never let me down."

Jasper watched until she had disappeared inside and then headed toward the barn. His steps were measured, his back ramrod straight as he exuded the confidence that Maria brought out of him.

Inside Lucy waited, Daniel sitting to her right and Emily cowering into her left side. The little blonde vampire had clutched at her hand nervously when Jasper had left them and Lucy hadn't had the heart to deny her. Instead she had shifted the girl's hand into her right one so that she could put her left arm around her thin shoulders, sheltering her from the stares of the hostile newborns and the other, more restless children. The pictures Emily had been projecting since her return were worrisome and the whole barn was tense with anger and apprehension.

Lucy still wasn't happy with Emily's presence there or with the furtive glances her Daniel bestowed on the child but she knew that Emily was destined to die and thus felt the child was deserving of some comfort before her untimely end. After all, Emily was much like her, nothing but a pawn in Maria's war games and endless quests for power and blood.

Emily had been going over her conversation with Jasper, unable to purge his words from her mind. She was going to fight newborns as large as the ones that stood before her now, growling at her and gnashing their teeth. Somehow she knew what the outcome would be, despite Jasper's promises to keep her safe. She was so small, so very small, and she didn't know the first thing about fighting anything except maybe the childish scuffles she had gotten into with her sisters in a life which seemed so long ago now that it hardly mattered anymore. She wasn't that Emily anymore. She was now this _thing_.

Jasper burst through the barn doors, throwing them open with both hands. He strode across the barn, catching the wondering eyes of each newborn gathered around him. Sharp snarls and growls erupted, some ringing with excitement and eagerness, while others were mixed with the pain Emily's thoughts created.

It had been this atmosphere that he had walked into: anger and barely contained rage. In the corner cowered Lucy with Daniel and Emily. She had held up her end of the bargain at least and kept Emily from harm. Pain blanched his features only for a moment before he gained enough control to mask the bothersome emotion created by the gifted child.

When the barn door opened, Emily's eyes darted up from where they had been fixed on the dirt floor, an unmistakable questioning swirling in their scarlet depths. The faint sunlight that filtered through and fell across the ground, however, caused her to hide her face under Lucy's arm in fear.

Lucy allowed the girl to tuck herself into her side, her eyes hard and her lips pressed into a grim line as she raised her eyes to Jasper's face. "Tonight?"

Jasper approached Lucy, eyeing the two children at her side briefly as if he didn't recognize them, then nodded once sharply in reply and turned on his heel to pace the line.

"Everybody gather!" he yelled, his voice ringing with authority.

Nettie slinked along the back wall taking everything in with barely veiled excitement. It was in these moments that she most coveted Maria's possession, the merciless major commanding his army in all his glory. Powerful, driven...he made her growl low in her throat in a predatory and lustful nature as she quietly shut the barn doors, blocking out the dawning day and casting the interior into menacing shadows that carved out the planes of Jasper's lean form and caused his red eyes to glow in the dim light. She knew he could sense what she was feeling, he probably had before, but she couldn't bring herself to care. When she made her move against Maria, she would offer him a place by her side as a true equal, something which Maria would never willingly give him.

"Tonight, we fight! In a moment, I will pair you up to spar but as of right now, I need your attention!"

He stopped in mid pace and turned sharply on his heel to face the others. "Emilio's army is ranked at thirty newborns. That's more then what we are, but I feel that with your superior training and your capability to work together that we will have an edge."

His head held high, the expression on his face showed the hard bitten major lurking beneath the surface. "All of us will be going to war, even myself. None of us are safe. Emilio's army aims to take what little bit of land we have but we will defend it with honor." The stone cold expression on his face melted and a smile curved his lips. "I'm quite confident we will win. Together, we will be a force to be reckoned with."

Yes, once again he went through the routine of shouting orders, preparing the troops and running off the high that Maria's poison created. In that moment he was untouchable, an equal to Maria and just as deadly and greedy. Still, deep down he hated himself for it.

The newborns growled their approval, eager for battle even if it meant the possibility of death in order to feed their endless hunger for blood. The children, understanding nothing in their mindless thirst simply howled and clawed at the earthen floor, writhing in anguish and tearing at their hair. Only three entities emitted emotions that did not center around the anger, thirst and violence that otherwise filled the air. Swirling just at the edge of the overwhelming chaos were Daniel's awe, Lucy's apprehension and Emily's abject fear.

Jasper's lips pressed into a cold smile. Of course they were in agreement. They were ignorant, stupid, and knew only what they were told to do. Ignorance was bliss when it came to the number of newborns finding their way in and out of Maria's charge.

Everyone's emotions were of one. Confidence, bloodlust, excitement. Everyone that was, except for three. He cast a look in their direction. Beneath the coldness sparkling in his eyes was hurt. Hurt that he was in fact lying to his charges to get them to do what he wanted and a slight flicker of panic that Emily would be killed. Before the emotions could fully manifest themselves under his stony exterior he wiped them away, turning back to the newborns.

Emily chanced a look from under Lucy's arm at the man who had both stolen her life and had taught her how to live her new one. He was a stranger to her in that moment, his face set in hard lines, his shoulders squared. But more than anything he smelled of her and it was her soulless red eyes that had replaced the warm ruby ones he had so often favored her with since her creation. She cowered back into Lucy's side again, shaking uncontrollably from head to toe.

Fear. It threatened to break through the edges of his own facade, drifting into the atmosphere of the arrogant emotions that Maria had created around him. He didn't have to look to know that it came from Emily. A hard swallow against the dryness in his throat forced back the pain that had been ebbing away at his confidence. He didn't dare look at her knowing that would be his downfall.

Nettie sauntered her way over to Jasper, tracing a finger along the ripped and dirty collar of his shirt. "And what would you have me do, Jasper? Is there any way that I can be of...assistance?" Her eyes flashed in her porcelain face as she pressed himself into him with an unsubtle desire.

With his hands folded in front him and the stately appearance of the confident Major once again intact, Jasper turned on Nettie with a curious yet thoughtful look. She was brazen in her behavior. Had he been in a fouler mood, he may have saved Maria the trouble and ripped her apart right there. Instead his lips pressed into a smile of calculation as he studied her with his head slightly cocked. He kindly removed her hands from him and held her at arm's length. "You'd be wise to keep your hands off of me. Maria doesn't share." Though his words were slightly amused by her boldness, there was a hint of warning.

Undeterred, Nettie's lips curved into a seductive smile before she leaned forward, her breathy words caressing his ear. "Maria doesn't know everything that goes on here and she doesn't have to. Think about that before you decide." Her voice morphed from a whisper to a throaty purr as she let the lust she held for him hit him full force. "You're far too good to simply be someone's plaything, especially when you could be so much more."

Waves of lust came his way, unrelenting and almost too tempting to pass up. "Think about what?" Curiosity dripped in his muted voice to know what she meant. She obviously had intentions that had little do with the battle. Her body language spoke enough for the two of them. When her lips brushed the sensitive skin of his ear, Jasper swallowed and bit down on his bottom lip, suddenly conflicted about the feelings coming toward him. "What is it that you could offer?" he asked, turning toward her with a scant smile of interest and slight confusion.

"Perhaps more than you know," Lucy purred, confidence mixing with her desire. "We'll speak later."

"I'm sure we will." Jasper leaned and grazed his lips against Nettie's, allowing his breath to tickle the sensitive skin there.

Without another word, Nettie extracted herself from Jasper's grip and sashayed past Lucy and the two children she seemed so stupidly attached to. The female was born to die and as for Daniel, well he didn't have much use except to keep Lucy obedient. Nettie knew it was only a matter of time before Maria went back on her word for one reason or another. Hell, she'd probably enjoy it, thrilling to watch Lucy's pain. Her hands fluttered up to caress the thin white scar at her throat as she cast her gaze down at Lucy. She was all too acquainted with Maria's petty amusements and she suspected Lucy had to know what a precarious situation she found herself in, loving the young boy the way she did. Perhaps that could be used to her advantage.

Jasper watched Nettie go, letting his eyes linger on her more than necessary, before flicking them toward the newborns and then to Lucy, Daniel and Emily, who were still crowded together in the corner. He gave them a lengthy stare before turning on his heel to face the others.

Lucy growled low in her throat at her counterpart as she watched her pass before her attention was diverted by Daniel who stood up from his place on the floor at her side.

"And where are you going?" she asked, letting go of Emily's hand to grasp his desperately.

"To get ready for the battle, like Jasper said." Daniel tugged against her knowing he could easily break away but unwilling to exert his strength against the woman who was his mother in all the ways that counted.

Lucy couldn't hide the flicker of fear that fell across her features. He had fought before, many times. He had the scars to prove it. But for some reason she felt uneasy about this battle. Something had been set in motion and more than ever she felt the need to keep Daniel close, to keep him safe. Her questioning eyes turned to Jasper. His word was law as much as Maria's and while she prepared herself to submit to his will she couldn't help but wish that his will was in line with her own.

Jasper stepped back with an expression that had once again turned cold. "I'm sorry, there is nothing that I can do."

His words were hollow, meaningless, because he realized that his promises meant nothing. Maria's word was law. She called the shots and no matter what he professed that he could do it would be a lie. Shame flickered across his face as his eyes ripped away from her and cast toward the floor.

Lucy longed to argue and her mouth opened to do so before she swallowed her words and obediently lowered her eyes. Daniel was beyond his first year now. His newborn strength was gone. He was vulnerable except for his experience at fighting. But even so, he was so small compared to the others as he broke away from her grasp and took his place amongst them. She could hardly bear to see him there and her grief overtook her as she hid her face in Emily's hair, a tearless sob working its way from her throat as she struggled to keep herself rooted to the floor rather than fly across the barn to throw her arms around her only reason for continuing on in the hell that was this life.

Jasper said nothing, just turned his back to them and linked his hands together behind his back. The pacing had become repetitive to him. The speech had been recounted so many times that he barely needed to think to roll it off of his lips. Such was the life that he had been thrust into. It was simply how things were. Yet, tonight was different. Tonight he wasn't simply just preparing the newborns. He was preparing the children for death.

Emily felt the shudders that wracked Lucy's frame and for the first time felt a sort of kinship with the vampire who up until then had been nothing but cold towards her. All that was forgotten as she lifted one tiny hand to place it against Lucy's cheek. Lucy startled at first at the unexpected touch but found herself staring down into the bottomless depths of the young girl's eyes in wonder, her sobs quieted at the pictures the girl placed in her mind. Daniel and herself laughing, her fingers running through his soot colored hair, Daniel smiling at her with affection...they were all things Emily had observed and memorized and now played back for her, pictures that Lucy found strangely comforting as she blinked several times against their hazy images.

"It's going to be okay," Emily murmured, patting Lucy's cheek. "Everything's going to be okay."

Jasper paused, his body stiffening with the flood of emotion, the sadness and fear combining together to become something that he found difficult to deflect. His eyes closed as he allowed them to touch him, to sink into his skin, to lash at him like whips. He deserved it. With his back turned away from the others, Jasper's eyes watered with tears that would never shed. Pain blanched his features, slicing through the stone facade that he had thus far been able to maintain.

"Jasper?" Daniel stood before him, gazing up at him with all the eagerness of the young boy he had once been, something he had not lost even with his change. "Jasper, what should I do? Do you want me to spar with the others?" He cast his eyes over to where Lucy sat with Emily, his brow furrowing in displeasure. "Don't mind Lucy. She just worries is all. Thinks I'm just a boy but I've fought enough battles and lived to tell of it. Battles that even some of the biggest newborns didn't survive. I'm not afraid of fighting." His eyes shifted from Lucy to Emily and they softened perceptibly. "Besides, I need to be ready, more than ever. I have to keep her safe."

Jasper blinked several times, trying to eradicate the weakness evident on his face before turning his eyes on the boy. "No." His voice was hushed, sad and vulnerable. "No, you'll spar with me."

Without further word, Jasper's eyes left Daniel to train back ahead of him. They spoke of fear, pain, conflict and a shallow emptiness that he deftly tried to hide. Death was inevitable, something that couldn't be avoided. Even for a vampire, an eternity was often short and violent.

Daniel couldn't help but notice Jasper's quiet demeanor. The leader that had been present in him moments before had slowly withered away leaving nothing but a statue in his place, his face set in lines of quiet pain as he watched the newborns fight, hurling each other through the air and landing in the dirt before them. "Is everything...alright? Are you afraid we'll lose? We never lose. Not since you came."

Jasper said nothing for several minutes. It appeared that he hadn't even heard Daniel speak nor did he acknowledge his presence. Then a faint smile lifted the corner of his mouth and his eyes found the boy. "Everything's fine." The lie left his lips smoothly. "I'm just thinking about some things." Concern touched him and he knew it was from the boy. His eyebrows creased as he took in the emotion. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." Jasper gave him a lazy pat on the shoulder.

Daniel cast another wary glance behind him to where Emily sat with Lucy, a slight smile pulling at the corners of his mouth to see not only his love but the pictures she was showing Lucy as they sprung to life in his mind too. Happier times... Soon they would have new memories to make them smile. He would see to it. He planned to tell Emily of his feelings before the battle and afterwards they would be together always. His frozen heart swelled with love at the thought.

Emily's soothing words became too much for Lucy, too much when she knew that the child would be dead in a matter of hours, too much when she saw the look in Daniel's eyes as they lit on the child's face. Unable to bear any more she gently removed Emily's hands from her face and stood, moving to the far side of the barn to huddle in a corner, her knees pulled up to her chin.

Love. It was something that seemed foreign and wrong to him, a feeling that seeped into his emotional climate and warmed the cold that had for so long filled his heart, the cold dead feeling that had come to be so natural to him. It felt better than the torment and the suffering, the pain that those emotions brought with them and their sickening images. For the first time since his creation, Jasper felt true love. Next to the lust and pleasure that Maria allowed him to feel it blazed like an inferno. Its flames scorched his skin and licked down to his bones. It felt as if he were being burned alive.

It hurt like hell but along with the pain there was bliss. It felt good. It felt like a breath of fresh air. Like for the first time his eyes were open and he could clearly see and it scared the shit out of him. He turned away from Daniel, hugging his arms around his stomach as if to hold himself together. Suddenly the heat that had become so blinding melted away to ice. Ice that sunk past his skin and into his bones, hardening his heart once more, his muscles, his core.

When he turned back to face Daniel his eyes were darkened with a sparked desire. He wanted to rip the boy apart. Rip him apart for making him feel so much, for opening his heart to things other than those that Maria wanted him to feel. The metallic sound of the boy's arms ripping free, of his head being snapped off like a twig, echoed through Jasper's mind before he snapped back into reality and withdrew from Daniel, eyeing him like he were some kind of monster.

"Why do you make me feel these things?" his voice hissed out in an accusation, his eyes burning into him.

Daniel staggered back a step under the weight of Jasper's sudden and unforeseen anger. "What? I don't know- I didn't..."

In the next moment Lucy was there, sweeping Daniel behind her and dropping down into a crouch in front of him, her lips pulled back in a vicious snarl. Her eyes were locked on Jasper, calculating his every movement, every shift of his weight in preparation to defend what was hers, to protect her son.

Jasper shifted into a crouch, whirling toward the female with battle sparked eyes. His fingers curled into claws, his foot anchoring behind him in a defensive manner. A spitting hiss forced out between his teeth as his lips curled back.

So many things flashed before him. Violence, the smell of burning flesh so acrid and thick in the air that the sickening smell fogged his mind and burned his lungs upon his intake of breath. Screams reaching through space and time. Jasper's blood red eyes shifted to black then back to red then back to black and then back to red again. Conflict raged as he fought to gain control over the emotions running rampant within him.

"You'll not lay a hand upon him," she spat, her eyes flashing fire.

His muscles stiffened upon her words. "You'll not stop me," he snarled, his eyes fever bright.

The newborns growled low in their throats behind him, coming to flank his sides, their eyes smoldering with rage, their minds restless and eager for violence. Lucy gave a feral hiss, backing up a few steps and preparing to fight them all in order to keep Daniel safe. She didn't care what the odds were, no one would harm him.

Emily's mouth dropped open for only a second for just as quickly she was at Jasper's side, reaching up to tug his arm. "No, please..."

It was Emily's voice that broke through.

Through the expanse of desolate landscape that was his living hell on earth came the sound of an angel. She spread light across the shades of grey, bringing the world back into focus. The fog began to clear and confusion took the place of the anger and rage.

Lucy's hand instantly closed around the girl's upper arm, snatching her back and shoving her behind her as well where Daniel promptly wrapped her in his arms and pressed her to his chest. They clung to each other like the frightened children they were, their eyes wide in their pale faces, eyes which peered around Lucy's immovable form to where Jasper stood, fear in their ruby depths.

Jasper staggered backward, his fingers kneading his forehead as if he had a massive headache. "What is-what's going on?" he asked, mildly confused by the defensive behavior of the three before him.

Lucy remained poised to spring but tilted her head to the side, not yet trusting Jasper to not attack her or Daniel and Emily. Instead another warning growl escaped her clenched teeth as she shifted her weight, uncertain and nervous.

Pure unadulterated fear and defensive rage hit him as he took in what stood before him: Lucy ready to defend and the children cowering behind her in terror. Jasper backed off, horrified by his loss of control only to turn away from them in shame.

"I'm sorry." The words left his lips in a hushed whisper, almost too faint for the others to hear.

Lucy reached behind her and nudged Daniel. "Take Emily and go sit in the corner. Don't move until I tell you to."

She had expected resistance but Daniel seemed all too eager to do as she asked, scurrying away against the far wall where he sat, pulling Emily against him. She was shaking uncontrollably and he kissed her hair before letting his chin come to rest on the top of her head, soothing words spilling from his lips so fast that they were almost indecipherable in their speed. Lucy for her part could only focus on one image, an image that filled every mind in the barn courtesy of Emily. Jasper's face full of rage, his eyes devoid of anything recognizable or even remotely human.

The reflection of his face made itself prominent in his mind. Black, soulless eyes set in a face etched with rage that would make any vampire cringe and withdraw. That had been the face that Emily had seen, he realized. Even shutting his eyes against the image didn't shut it out. Jasper wanted to go to her, to soothe her and tell her it was okay, that _he_ was okay, but his feet wouldn't leave their position. He was cemented into place, as still as a statue.

Something else had made its way into the atmosphere. Doubt. The newborns were growing restless around him. He could feel it in the atmosphere, feel the shift in their weight, hear the wary growls between them, the collective feelings swirling in the air.

Lucy continued to watch him warily as he stood with his back to her. There was no way to discuss what happened, not with so many newborns around them. His apologies for his behavior alone had been enough to spark doubt in their eyes, doubt that Jasper was still in control, doubt that he could lead them, command them. They were a few careless seconds away from losing their tenuous hold on the wild and savage creatures. Lucy had seen it happen enough times before and she had the scars to prove what could happen when control was lost.

Mindless mumbles left his lips most of which didn't make sense, like the babblings of a madman pushed too far over the edge to be brought back to salvation. His eyes darted warily to the newborns closing in, to the confusion and terror on the faces of the children, but he didn't turn around to face Lucy. He didn't have to. The confusion was there. She questioned his sanity but most of all, she questioned his leadership.

"You heard Jasper! Break off into pairs and practice your fighting techniques!" Lucy's hands rested on her hips as she surveyed them, her voice and her demeanor inviting no argument. "Nightfall will be here soon enough and standing around will do nothing to prepare you for anything but death!"

The sharp words broke through the tension in the atmosphere. For now the newborns were distracted with a task and his leadership was still intact. He would have to thank Lucy for that later when he spoke to her. Despite Maria's unease about her Jasper couldn't help but like Lucy, feeling as if the two of them were each cut from the same cloth. They had a quiet bond that Maria couldn't touch.

The newborns growled and hissed in response but they did as they were told and the barn was once again filled with the sounds of fighting which almost hid the soft sobbing coming from the corner to which she had sent Daniel and Emily. Part of her wanted to correct the child, to tell her to toughen up knowing as she did what lay only hours before her but it seemed to be of no use. Let her cry. Even if they were mortal and could cry, there weren't tears enough for her ever approaching fate. No amount of strength or resilience on her part would spare her, even if she survived the initial battle. She was already dead and had been from the moment she had first opened her vampire eyes, from the moment Maria's venom had poisoned her tiny body.

Undoubtedly this is what had Jasper on edge. She once again took him in, his back to her, his shoulders slumped before she finally closed her eyes. There were no words that would ease his suffering. He had done what she had somehow hoped he wouldn't. He had tried to keep his humanity, had tried to separate the man from the monster instead of simply giving in. He had done what she had done and like her, he was paying dearly for it.

With nothing to offer him, no comfort, no promise of hope or salvation, she simply turned away and walked to where Daniel and Emily sat. Her eyes swept lovingly over the boy at her feet. He was safe for now but she didn't know how much longer that would last. Perhaps she had been wrong to condemn him to this life out of her own selfishness. Perhaps she should have let him die on that battlefield, calling out for his human mother instead of changing him, keeping him for herself and making him her eternal son. There was nothing eternal about this life they lead, no guarantee that immortality was something they could hold onto, not here, not in this world of war and greed.

Shoulders slumped, Jasper waited until Lucy's footsteps retreated to the back of the barn to return to his position before the scene had broken out. He turned a slow circle, the sounds of boulders crashing resounding throughout the barn like a cacophony of macabre music. When his eyes landed on Lucy, Daniel and Emily again his breath caught in his throat. Words were lost to him.

Lucy sat next to Daniel even though he barely noticed, so caught up in his undeniable affection for the little blonde vampire tucked into his side. Still she sifted her fingers through his hair and allowed herself an errant daydream of what life could have been. Daniel forever young and beautiful at her side, forever her comfort and her joy. And maybe even Emily, her ruby eyes always looking upon her son with the love and awe she had so often seen there in the past few days. All of them happy and free, away from Maria, away from this place.

But that daydream would soon be shattered. At least in part. Emily would be dead by the next sunrise and Daniel would be irreparably hurt, just like she had feared. There had been no way to stop it really. Trying to keep the two of them apart was like trying to stop the world from turning. It had been inevitable. But was everything so written in stone? Could she and Daniel perhaps leave?

Her eyes darted to Jasper. She knew he could read her emotions but she was almost afraid that he would guess her thoughts. As much as she had grown to respect him and yes, almost to like him, in the last few months, she knew he could not be trusted with her musings. She knew where his loyalties were.

Jasper cocked his head, narrowing his eyes. Something seemed off. Lucy's mood flickered between emotions too quickly for him to grasp onto until her guard slipped. A shred of deceit filtered through her well fabricated facade. He simply stared at her, deliberating letting the emotion thoughtlessly slip through his fingers. He owed her as much. Still his eyes lingered on her until he turned his back to face the others.

"Okay! Switch partners!" he ordered, gesturing lazily with his index finger. "Don't take your eyes off the enemy! Attack from the sides!"

"Emily, you have to stay with Lucy for now," Daniel murmured into her hair as he loosened her grip from his arms and shifted her weight from him. "I'll be back soon but I have to join the others."

Lucy took the child from Daniel, her eyes sad as she watched him stand and walk over to the outskirts of the fighting. Emily made a tiny sound of protest but quickly settled against her, alternating visions of Jasper's face, both kind and angry, flitting through her confused mind and blooming to life before all their eyes. Lucy's gaze, however, was intently focused on Jasper despite Emily's pictures, assessing his mood and watching with apprehension as Daniel came to stand by his side.

Lucy's discomfort was palpable and a low nervous growl escaped her as he met her gaze. She was uneasy again, on edge, and fully prepared to launch herself across the space that separated her from Daniel if needed at a moment's indication.

"I believe I am to spar with you...sir." Daniel kept his eyes focused on the newborns, purposefully not calling Jasper by his name as he always had. Somehow it didn't seem right anymore.

Jasper could feel Lucy's eyes burning into his back, the paranoid mood radiating off of her caused by the boy coming to stand before him. She didn't trust him and he didn't blame her. He couldn't be trusted, he realized. His word was law but it was also a lie. Everything was a lie. His eyes drifted over his shoulder to the female behind him before they landed on Daniel.

'Sir?' Since when did he call him sir? The choice of address confused him, still Jasper acknowledged him with a nod and a smile.

"I believe that's what I told you, yes." He slipped into a crouch then, beginning to move into a slow methodical circle around Daniel. "Remember what I told you, Daniel. Do you remember?"

Daniel's eyes were wide but he lowered his head in determination, as he circled along with him, keeping Jasper to his front and trying to anticipate his next move. "Yes, sir. Never take my eyes off my enemy. Move in from the sides, do what is least expected."

"Very good," Jasper appraised, his eyes ticking over Daniel in calculation watching for any sign of attack. "If you slip up, you die." The words snapped from his lips in a harsh bark, his fingers curled into claws.

Without warning Daniel broke their predatory dance in a blur and came at Jasper's right, hands curved into claws which he latched onto his shoulders.

Jasper swung in a semi-circle, his movements reduced to a blur. Daniel's fingers locked into the marble on his shoulder with deadly accuracy, however, before he could complete the motion. A growl tore through his throat in both surprise and pain as he shifted forward, reached behind him, locking Daniel's neck in his grasp and flipped him over his shoulder onto the ground.

"Never linger on your enemy longer than necessary. Dart in, dart out."

Daniel quickly scrambled to his feet, keeping his eyes on Jasper as he judged his next move. He was aware though of the other children, the ones younger than himself, staring at him with barely veiled malevolence. He motioned his head in their direction. "Aren't they fighting?"

Jasper swept backward, keeping his eyes locked on the boy. He didn't answer, choosing to act as if he hadn't heard him rather than to go through the explanation and the endless questions that Daniel would most likely have. The boy was entirely too inquisitive for his own good.

As soon as his words had left his lips, Daniel swept in so fast he was barely visible, jumping over Jasper's head and landing behind him, poised to attack.

Daniel's quick movements sparked the alarm bells in Jasper's mind, placing him on high alert. His muscles tensed as the boy sailed over him and just as the child's feet touched the ground, he jumped sideways, planting his feet against a wooden beam and flying toward Daniel from the left.

Daniel braced himself for the impact, holding his hands out in front of him and grasping Jasper's arms when he came within his reach, falling onto his back he placed a foot on Jasper's stomach and launched him into the air before jumping to his feet and whirling in the direction he had sent him flying.

"Is Emily fighting?"

Sailing overhead Jasper twisted in the air, ricocheting off a support beam and rocketing back toward Daniel, aiming to sail over his head. "No. I'm not going to allow it." He landed behind the boy with a boom and instantly shot forward to lock his arms around the Daniel's neck.

Daniel spun and trapped Jasper's hands under his arm before throwing an elbow up to his face. "Is she going to stay here?"

Jasper ducked his elbow. "No, but I'll watch out for her," he grunted, dropping down and throwing out his leg to execute a leg sweep.

Daniel crashed to the ground so hard the walls rattled. He laid there blinking up at Jasper in disbelief. "But she doesn't know how! She's not a fighter."

Those words carried more bite than Jasper wanted. He took a couple of steps back, tearing his eyes off of the boy. "I know she doesn't," he ground out between clenched teeth, setting his jaw. "I won't let her get hurt. I promise."

"_I_ won't let her get hurt. I won't let anything happen to her, not ever." Daniel stood and glared at Jasper in mute challenge, his chest heaving in barely repressed anger. "I don't want her there."

Jasper stared at him in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock and outrage, looking at Daniel who was so clearly out of line. "You've not got a choice!" Jasper growled, stepping forward.

Despite the unmistakable fear that beat at the back of Daniel's brain he took a brave step forward to meet Jasper until there were mere inches between them. "I don't want her there," he said again, enunciating each word through clenched teeth. "I'm on to you and to her. I know why you're not teaching them to fight. I know what you're planning."

With his face just inches from Daniel's, a low growl ripped through his throat. "You know nothing of the sort." His voice hissed out low and dangerous.

Lucy jumped up from the ground and flew to them in a blur, putting a hand on each of their chests and prying them apart. Before Daniel could say another word she gave him a vicious shake, effectively silencing him. She was all too aware of the eleven pairs of glittering eyes fixed on them. The children had heard what Daniel had said. She wondered how much they had understood or if their insatiable bloodlust had confused and twisted Daniel's words enough to keep them ignorant.

But one newborn child was not so preoccupied with her thirst. Lucy's eyes darted to Emily where she huddled in the corner. She expected to see understanding and fear. The understanding was there but instead of fear there was only resignation. She realized with horror that the child knew. She knew she was created to die. She had known before Daniel had even spoken and yet she had stayed. Why?

A picture appeared in Lucy's mind. Jasper hugging the child and promising to keep her safe. She almost choked at his words because they were nothing more than a pretty lie, told like a fairy tale to an all too trusting child.

A flicker, then a flash of images flooded into Jasper's mind of the night he had made his promise to Emily to keep her safe. Jasper's expression blanched with pain at the mental picture. It twisted the knife in his guts that much more.

Lucy whirled around, her eyes flying to Jasper's face. "You told her." It was a simple statement, not a question. She knew Jasper had seen the same thing she had seen. "You promised her..."

Jasper's eyes were dead, the flare of anger disappearing to be replaced by acceptance and despair. "I'm done here." His words were soft and fraught with pain as he turned his back on them and focused his attention back to the newborns.

"Okay!" he commanded. "Emilio's army will be attacking tonight! We won't have time to feed beforehand so you must conserve your energy. Take a break for now." He waved them away lazily, not quite himself and moved off to the corner where his back slid down the wall and his face dropped into his hands.

Lucy stared after him, taking in his defeated posture as he came to rest on the ground. The newborns seemed content to listen to him for the moment, their hostility for once not directed at Emily for the gift she had yet to learn to control. In a few hours it wouldn't matter. She'd be gone but the pain her presence had caused would linger. That much was evident in Jasper's despair, Daniel's furious need to prevent the inevitable and her own disgust at what was to come.

"Go," she whispered to Daniel, pushing him lightly in Emily's direction. She didn't have to ask again. Daniel gladly obeyed her, running with vampire speed to her side and gathering her in his arms.

Lucy slowly made her way towards Jasper, unsure as to what his reaction to her presence would be. He was unstable, waging an internal battle to rival the one that was fast approaching as the sun glided through the sky in the world outside. Finally she too let herself slide down the wall, coming to sit in the dirt a few feet away from him. For a long while she said nothing, allowing herself to go as still as a statue as she kept her eyes focused on Daniel and her ears trained on Jasper's quiet breathing. Somehow she felt her presence would mean more to him than anything she could say.

Jasper didn't move. If it weren't for his breathing one might think that he was simply an artfully crafted statue. Lucy's presence had not gone unnoticed however. She was offering her sympathy, that much was obvious from the mood she projected to him. He couldn't begrudge her that. When he lifted his face from the darkness his palms provided, his eyes shifted to hers and a quiet understanding passed between them. The pain that had been so evident in his eyes was still there, warring away with the monster vying to take over.

"If there is anything I can do to make this easier..." Her words trailed off as she dropped her gaze to the dirt below them. She knew there wasn't anything to be done. "It's not easy having a conscience. I've wished mine away so many times..."

Jasper attempted a brittle smile and shook his head. "I don't think there's anything that anyone can do. It just is," he mumbled, biting down on his lower lip. "When she dies, the last shreds of my humanity will go with her." Jasper's eyes dropped to the ground. "With my gift comes pain that nobody else could possibly understand, not even you. I wish that Maria would've killed me the night that she had decided to damn me to this."

Lucy said nothing but reached out a hand to clasp his where it lay limp in the dirt beside him, her eyes still resting on the two little vampires across the barn, holding each other and declaring their love for one another. A shudder of pain rippled through her as she struggled to swallow sobs which could never do justice to the swirl of emotions within her still heart.

Jasper managed a weak smile and curled his fingers into her own, giving them a squeeze. "Thank you," he murmured, though her sympathy didn't quell the inevitable, that Emily was going to die.


	9. Gone

8. Gone

The hours passed in that way until the dimly lit barn grew dark with the setting sun. Hearing Maria's footsteps approaching, Lucy stood. "It's time." Her voice was a broken whisper.

Jasper's eyes instantly flashed to the barn doors, a look of pure panic sweeping across his face before those eyes fell on the children.

The barn doors burst open and Maria entered, her eyes wild with the promise of conquest as she surveyed her army before finally allowing them to rest on its commander.

"Gather them," she growled, her excitement bordering on ecstasy. "Our enemy fast approaches."

Jasper nodded in obedience and instantly stood up, casting a side long look to Lucy, before taking up position at the head of the newborns. "Alright! Gather around!" he barked out, his expression grim and effectively masking the pain etching his features. He intentionally stood with his back turned to the children, his eyes trained deftly on the eager newborns in attempt to tune out Maria's presence and the uncomfortable edge it caused in the atmosphere.

The newborns moved to stand before him, their eyes sparked with hunger. Hunger for battle, hunger for blood, hunger for more of everything. Lucy and Nettie came to stand by Maria as expected and Daniel and Emily hung back in the corner away from everyone else.

It was a development that was not lost on Maria. She tilted her head to the side taking in the fragile girl, the way Daniel's arms were closed protectively around her. She felt Lucy stiffen at her side to realize that she had seen them.

"That is...most unfortunate, Lucy."

Maria's words were like ice and though they spoke of pity, Lucy knew there was no pity to be had.

"Yes," she whispered brokenly. "It is."

Lucy purposefully kept her eyes off Jasper, not wanting to involve him. It wouldn't help anything for Maria to know if his attachment to the girl as well and it wasn't hers to share in any case.

With an irritated sigh Maria quickly walked over to the two children and closed her hand around the girl's arm, ripping her from Daniel's embrace.

Jasper's eyes instantly snapped in her direction and it took everything he had not to bolt from his position and put himself between Maria and the child. The rough handling she showed her, the cold way she simply tore her away from Daniel showed her lack of feeling for any such nonsense.

"No, child. She doesn't belong here with you. She belongs over there, with the others. And you, my dear, know where you belong."

Her eyes were not as harsh as they always were when speaking to those that she commanded but there still was no denying the resolute decision in them. Daniel clenched his jaw, his hands balling into fists as he watched Maria drag her away, her little hands outstretched towards him. Somehow he would find her in the chaos of battle. Somehow he would protect her.

"Are we ready?" Jasper hissed sharply, ready to move forward. The crux leading up to the war was proving to be too much handle yet he clung desperately to all the seconds that he had Emily in his arms, the words they'd traded, the priceless minutes they shared. He wanted to cling to more of them, to whisk her away from the war about to unfold and send her safely on her way. Alive.

However it was not a plausible or realistic fantasy and he knew it. She would die despite his best efforts to protect, to watch out for her. If it weren't at the hands of one of the savage newborns it would be at the hands of Maria.

Lucy reached out a hand and gripped Emily's, shuffling the child into place at the edge of the group of savage children.

"You'll stand here, darling. With the others," she whispered leaning down towards the child. "Don't worry, it will be over soon."

Her voice was steady but grief swept through her at the injustice of it all, at the disgusting lies she was forced to say so sweetly so as not to alarm the child, to cause her any undue worry as she prepared to march to her own death. She felt her frozen heart would shatter like a ball of ice in her chest as she straightened back up, her spine stiff with the effort it took to keep her face carefully composed into a mask of calm.

Maria stood in the doorway, surveying her army with blatant appreciation. They were an unstoppable force and even if they sustained losses, Emilio's army would fall, the children would be burned and she would possess the largest territory known to their kind. She was sitting on the edge of her greatest victory to date and she couldn't help but cast an appreciative look in Jasper's direction.

Jasper afforded her a return smile, his hands linked together behind his back. The excitement in the air from the newborns and from Maria became so potent, Jasper found himself gravitating toward it to push away the feelings of despair threatening to consume him.

"What we do tonight, we do for our survival!" she yelled, her eyes sparking with passion. "We fight for our right to exist, our right to feed! Accept no defeat, show no mercy! Tonight, we will be victorious!"

The newborns roared their approval and loyalty. Maria's eyes narrowed with determination as she marched out of the barn, her army filing out behind her into the night. Already she could smell the fires set by Emilio's army on the chosen battlefield, the smoke drifting on the gentle night breeze.

The uproar of growls roaring collectively together only intensified the atmosphere. Jasper once again found himself moving toward it, toward the infinite black hole that was the poison filling up the air space between them. To feel like the others, lustful, excited, anticipating was a much better way to go then to feel the misery that was the child.

The acrid scent of the fires burned his nostrils. The fires that would be filled with the sickeningly sweet smell of burning vampire.

Nettie hissed and spat, corralling the children into a tight circle as she moved them out. Emily clutched at Lucy's hand, her eyes darting about through the forest of legs, desperately searching for a sign of Daniel. He was lost to her as she was forced along in a sea of bodies, the smell of smoke burning her nose and causing her terror to spike.

Her mind fluttered around one image, an image she unwillingly pushed into the minds of all those around her: Daniel. Where was he? Growing frantic she let go of Lucy's hand, spinning and turning and searching for him. She was so afraid and she needed him to tell her it was going to be alright again. She needed to feel his arms around her, feel his lips in her hair.

She was swept up in the crush of bodies, deafened by the snarls and growls around her, but still she fought her way through them even escaping Lucy's grasping hands as she tried to pull her back.

Running in the front alongside Maria, Jasper could smell the smoke, hear the crackling of the fires. The sound of deafening thunder reached his ears. Emilio's army, coming full force from the north. As his feet carried him against his own volition toward his destination the distinct sounds of anguish arose through the chaos. Emily.

He could hear her but not only that, he could feel the terror racking her frame. He closed his eyes, taking in the collective emotions around him. Emily's terror, Daniel's determination, Maria's excitement, Lucy's resignation. It all hit him in a massive tidal wave that nearly knocked him off of his feet and swallowed him up. Somehow, he wished that it would.

"Daniel! Daniel!"

Her little voice was nearly lost in the chaos but Daniel heard it. He was attuned to it and it sang to him above the roar of the newborns, the shrieks and howls of the other children who looked like demons escaped from hell as they clawed and tore at each other and themselves, so mad with bloodlust as to be insane. He fought his way towards her, could just see her pale little face amongst the swarming mass of angry vampires. Straining he reached across a big male to his left and his fingers just brushed hers.

"Emily! It's going to be okay! I'm going to keep you safe! When the battle starts, keep moving! Don't stop moving! I'll be right behind you!"

"Daniel, I'm so scared! Please don't leave me!"

"I won't! I promise I won't!"

Maria scented Emilio and his army and broke into a run, waving her soldiers forward. "Nettie, Lucy, the children! Up front, now!"

Nettie ran at them from the left, herding them forward. Lucy grabbed Emily around the waist and ran at them from the right, carrying the girl kicking and screaming right along with her. Daniel struggled against the newborns around him, trying to break free but he was blocked in, unable to get through without ripping them apart. He contemplated it for a moment, feeling an intense need to keep Emily close but as soon as he tore even a limb from one of his fellow soldiers, the whole group would erupt into violence and they'd all be killed in the onslaught from the opposing army. The atmosphere was too tense, too explosive. Instead he kept his eyes on her, never letting her out of his sight. When they took formation in the clearing, he would break free and he would find her.

Suddenly Jasper's eyes snapped open to the violence laid out ahead of them. The roaring of the opposing army so close that it was nearly the only thing he could hear. "Split up! Flank them!" he shouted above the noise.

The children took the lead as they stormed through the forest towards the place where the columns of black smoke rose into the air. Only Maria ran in front of them, her eyes glittering with the promise of victory, her dead heart feeling as though it could take to beating again with the excitement of battle. It was in these moments that she felt alive again and a wild cackle left her lips as they neared the clearing.

The newborns parted like the red sea, leaving Maria to run ahead with Nettie and the children. Lucy ran into the trees with them, still carrying Emily who continued to struggle against her, screaming wordless pleas of terror. In the distance the shouts and snarls of Emilio's army shook the earth as her ruby eyes locked on Jasper's face.

Through the break in the trees Jasper caught a glimpse of her. The child held his eyes for several seconds, the fear in her ruby depths so prevalent that he could feel the cut from them across his skin like a knife with a searing hot blade. He half entertained the concept of abandoning his position and whisking her away from the danger, leaving Maria and the entire newborn army to the fates. He wanted to call out to her before she vanished, but his breath caught in his throat and nearly choked him.

Daniel ran with the group to the left, his vampire eyes focusing on the group of children through the trees as they flew past, his gaze never leaving Emily wrapped in Lucy's arms. He only hoped that she could keep her safe until he could reach them.

Jasper split off with a group of newborns to the right, running as if chased by the devil himself. The haunting image of Emily, the last flicker that he caught before she was hauled away into the trees was a permanent fixture behind his eyelids. The pain of her terror became a constant stab in his guts.

The newborns began to slow and Daniel could smell the opposing army, could hear them in the clearing. One of the larger newborns, a vampire named John, motioned for them to stop and Daniel allowed his eyes to dart away from Emily for less than a second taking in the enemy vampires where they stood in a perfectly formed line, fires lit and ready at either end. Standing in front of them, his fists clenched in rage, was who Daniel assumed was their leader.

With his band gathered, Jasper waved them down into a united crouch. And as one the group of them stalked through the trees like a large malignant mass lying dormant, waiting for Maria to give her signal.

Maria walked out into the clearing alone with a confident swagger. The howl of anguish that tore from Emilio's throat upon seeing her only made her lips curve up into a sadistic smile.

"So glad you could make it, old friend," she purred. "Too bad it's not under better circumstances."

"You murdered her," Emilio snarled, her muscles tensed as though to attack. "You killed her and you burned her! And for that you will die! You and your entire army!"

Maria didn't even flinch. Instead she held her ground as though she had not a care in the world. "That is where we disagree. Tonight I come to take everything from you. Not just your mate but your land, your blood and your life."

With a flick of her wrist, the trees behind her began to shake and snap as an unstoppable force moved through them, snarling and hissing. Emilio's forces ran forward, prepared and eager for the onslaught but their steps slowed and halted altogether when Maria's hoard of immortal children tore from the trees and rushed forward like a swarm of demons released from hell.

Through the line of trees where his group crouched in preparation for attack Jasper could just make out the children as they broke through the trees, ripping clawing and tearing their way through the surprised and confused newborns like little monsters. A lump formed in Jasper's throat when he caught the sight of Emily in the center of it all and terror rose to reflect in his eyes.

Some of Emilio's newborns simply stared in confusion, unable to comprehend what their eyes were showing them and unable to raise a hand against the beautiful little creatures as they descended upon them, ripping and tearing. The metallic screeching matched the children's howls of fury as the last of them entered the clearing, her blonde hair flying out behind her, her eyes darting about her, her face full of terror.

"Emily!"

Without hesitation, Daniel flew into the clearing, giving away the position of his group. Immediately Emilio's newborns turned and sprinted into the trees, the sounds of battle growing even louder as they met with Maria's forces there.

Jasper's terror quickly turned to horror when Daniel came tearing through the trees, thus giving away the other half of their army's position.

"Charge! Take as many as you can!"

Jasper gave the order, barking it out as he charged out into the open with his troops, the newborns behind him sprinting out from every direction to collide with opposing forces. He tore through the mass of bodies, ripping the arm off of one the opposing vampires as he clawed, kicked and punched his way through the hoard.

Daniel reached Emily just as one of Emilio's newborns brought his arms together to try and snare her. Instead the newborn's arms closed around nothing but air as Daniel barreled into her, scooping her up against him with one arm and neatly tearing the large vampire's head off with the other. The screech it caused had Emily's hands clapped up over her ears, her breath coming in fast pants as the world around them descended into chaos.

Maria took her position back in the trees with Nettie and Lucy flanking her. The amusement that would have played across her features at watching Emilio's army steadily decimated was tainted, however, by the actions of Lucy's YOUNG Daniel. He had cost her four newborns with his outburst and for nothing more than futilely trying to protect the gifted child she had removed from him earlier. It had been stupid and disobedient and she ground her teeth together as she contemplated how to punish him for his foolishness.

Lucy shifted her weight uncomfortably at Maria's side. She had followed her gaze and had watched as it unerringly trailed Daniel. The coldness in Maria's eyes caused a shiver to run up her spine. She found her son out in the clearing and whimpered as he fought valiantly and in vain. Please just let him survive the battle, she prayed. She would worry about Maria afterward.

Daniel tucked Emily into his side as they ran and ducked and dodged the newborns descending on them from all sides. A fist flew at his head and he quickly sidestepped it, grabbing a hold of the vampire's arm and ripping it free from his body. The sound it made, however, couldn't overpower the terrified shriek that tore from Emily's throat.

He whirled a moment too late, a foot connecting with his face and sending him flying through the air. He landed on the ground several feet away, his eyes going wide with horror to see the newborn responsible lifting Emily up off the ground by her throat.

Jasper's path was altered by the distinct high pitched scream of a child. But it wasn't just any child. His ice cold heart sank into the pit of his stomach at the sound of metal shredding and he prayed it wasn't her.

Without a second's hesitation, he tore his way through the chaos searching for any signs of Emily. It was her scent that led him to her, the undeniable scent of apple pie and innocence.

Just before the newborn could rip her apart he blurred out of nowhere, hooking his arm around the vampire's neck. With a harsh metallic screech the newborn was decapitated. Jasper pried the child from the vampire's arms as his body slumped to the ground and whipped around on Daniel.

Daniel's eyes met Jasper for less than a moment, gratitude shining in their scarlet depths before a horrifying scream ripped from his throat along with his left arm. The newborn that had succeeded in tearing it from him reached forward with claw-like hands, eager to tear more than just his arm from his body.

With Emily still tucked soundly in his arms, Jasper leapt backwards in attempt to dodge the swipe from a newborn. His eyes found Daniel only briefly, before he had to once again dodge a blow that would have most definitely taken his head off. It was a hindrance to have the child occupying his arms so he released her from his grasp and swept her behind him before shifting into a crouch. His lips pulled back and a spitting hiss escaped his clenched teeth as the sound of screeching metal and a metallic scream reached his ears.

It was Daniel.

Lucy's enraged howl rose above everything as she made a move to tear from the trees. It was Maria's restraining hand that held her in place, her grip implacable and as solid as stone.

"Let us see how the child fares."

Lucy strained against Maria's hold, contemplating fighting her in order to reach her son. In the next instant, however, Daniel had quickly scrambled to his feet. With a flying leap he landed behind the newborn, sweeping his legs out from under him and swiftly tearing his head from his shoulders.

"See, Lucy? Jasper has taught him well. Interesting that they share the same strengths…as well as the same weaknesses," she murmured, her eyes flicking from Daniel to Jasper where he protected the little blonde vampire amidst the battle raging around him.

One of Emilio's newborns lurched forward and grabbed Jasper's arm, following up with a vicious metallic yank. Jasper felt the crack beginning in his marble skin as he flung himself toward the newborn, fist cocked and deployed. The satisfying crack of the vampire's face released his iron grip and sent him crashing to the ground. He spun to the check on the child, finding Daniel back in control. It was a grave error.

Jasper felt the searing pain of teeth in his shoulder and the arms of a newborn wrapping around him with merciless strength. Biting against the pain working its way up his neck and across his shoulders, the sting so unbearable that he had to fight back a yelp, he smashed his head back into the vampire's face and waited for his grip to loosen before grabbing both of his arms and ripping them off.

Daniel spun, located his severed arm and grabbed it before taking off in a run towards where Emily cowered behind Jasper. A quick swipe of venom across the ragged edge and he had it reattached just in time to sweep Emily off her feet and dodge a lunging newborn, leaping over writhing body parts, some of which he recognized with sickening clarity.

Emilio had managed to push his way through the chaos and break through Maria's soldiers and it was with an enraged howl that he flew towards her, prepared to rip her to shreds in his quest for vengeance. Maria had anticipated that he would come for her and she faced him down with deadly calm, only moving at the last second with her full speed to side step his attack and tear both his head and his torso asunder in one graceful, fluid motion.

The sounds of fighting were growing less and less as numbers dwindled on both sides. All but three of the children, Emily included, had been destroyed and she hid her eyes from the gruesome twisting of severed limbs and the silent screams from heads with no bodies. It was a waking nightmare and she buried her face in Daniel's neck as he bundled her against her chest.

As for their army of newborns, they had lost six, all from Daniel's group as they had been overwhelmed with the full force of Emilio's newborns before Jasper had launched his attack. The losses were higher than Maria anticipated and it was with a barely contained fury that she strolled out onto the battlefield, nudging dismembered body parts aside with her shoe in disgust.

"Nettie, Lucy, run a perimeter to make sure everyone is accounted for, see that everyone is fed and then take the newborns back to the barn." Her eyes, so calculating, so terrifyingly devoid of any emotion, landed on Daniel who set Emily down and swept him behind her. The two other surviving children crouched before her and hissed in savage fear. "Jasper, Daniel. You will assist me in cleaning up our mess."

Jasper rubbed his arm absently, nursing the healing wounds of what would become a few new scars and stood nearby but away from the gathering. He held Emily in his gaze and felt his stomach sink. She had survived the battle unscathed but she wouldn't be allowed to leave it alive. The smoke laid claim to his senses, curling inside of his nostrils and filling him with the familiar burn of the sickening sweet smell. Relief filtered toward him from both Daniel and the child and the knife in Jasper's guts plunged deeper, twisted harder. Of course, that relief was not without the tainted taste of fear and desperation.

Jasper stepped forward, obedient and silent, and swept his eyes across the children, Daniel included. His answer fell from his lips in a convulsive jumble. "As you wish." The grip he held on his wrist behind his back tightened as his hands began to shake from impotent rage and disgust.

Lucy stepped forward, her eyes darting between Daniel and Jasper. "Let Daniel go with Nettie and the others. I'll stay and help dispose of everything. I'm not at all thirsty and after the battle Daniel must be-"

"No." Maria's voice was like a thunderclap, resolute and final. She didn't turn to acknowledge Lucy's pleading expression, simply waved her away and moved into the middle of the battlefield, stooping to pick up a severed leg. "Jasper and Daniel will help me. Won't you?"

"I'll stay," Daniel agreed, pushing Emily towards Lucy in hopes that Maria wouldn't notice.

"Daniel?" Maria cocked her head at him, her jaw set as she strolled over to the two children. "Did I say for the girl to go with Lucy? I did not."

Emily trembled slightly to have Maria so near and she couldn't help but jump when the terrifying woman's hand shot out towards her. Instead of the violence that she feared, Maria's fingers softly caressed her cheek. Jasper held his breath as he watched, waiting.

"She has hands. She can help as well."

Lucy's eyes lingered on Daniel with undisguised fear before she reluctantly turned and disappeared into the trees with Nettie and the remaining newborns. The two remaining children scampered through the bodies, growling and hissing like wild things and Maria eyed them with irritation.

"Jasper, see to that."

Jasper swallowed, reluctantly shifting his eyes to the wild children racing about through the bodies. He felt the very pit of his stomach twist, knowing exactly what she meant by those words. Their familiarity was sickening. She wanted him to dispatch them but even though he well understood, he couldn't bring himself to do it. His eyes showed his conflict over it, the decision hanging over his head like a sharpened sword. Shame creased his expression as his eyes cast away from her and steadied on the ground before his feet.

"I can't," he mumbled, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Maria's carefully composed mask of calm fell away and her words lashed at him like whips. "You can't?"

The fury rolling off of her was enough to make him wince. Jasper swallowed, shaking his head nervously. His eyes darted up to hers to catch the full force of the anger directed at him.

Moving so fast even vampire eyes couldn't register her movements she snatched the children up and hurled them into the fire. They didn't even have time to scream, the only evidence of what she had done the purple smoke curling up into the night sky. She came to stop in front of Jasper, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and sending him the full brunt of her lust and anger, a powerful concoction that she knew would bring him to his knees.

Jasper flinched the moment Maria's hand locked around his neck. There was no choice but to stare into the black, soulless depths of her eyes, so furious that they barely looked human. A tidal wave of fury and lust hit him with enough strength to suck every last ounce of disobedience from him. His teeth gritted together as his legs buckled beneath him and his knees hit the dirt while his neck remained uncomfortably snapped backward and his eyes remained locked on her.

"Get to work," she hissed, pressing herself up against him for a moment before she pulled away and shot her eyes towards where Daniel and Emily stood clutching each other. "Emily, dear, why don't you come with me? Do you know what happens to vampires when they catch fire? They burn right up and turn to ash. Would you like to see?"

He swallowed convulsively, sucking in several heated pants as the brunt of her anger continued to lick the surface of his skin and seep into his bones. When she released him he fell forward, catching his fall by planting his hands in the earth in front of him. Her words continued to buzz in his ears but they were more than words. They were the law and he would be forced to obey. The lust intertwining with the anger made it easier to give in, to quit resisting her dominance. In a way he wanted to please her. He always had.

Maria took Emily by the hand as though they were simply a mother and daughter going on an afternoon stroll and lead her to one of the fires, picking up a torso along the way and throwing it inside. More purple smoke swirled up above them and the sickeningly sweet smell of it filled the air. Emily was shaking and pulling at Maria's hand in an attempt to get away, tearless sobs wracking her tiny frame. Her mind hovered on the nightmarish images surrounding her, images she was helpless not to project to all of them. Death and mutilated bodies and burning, burning, burning...

Daniel ran to Jasper's side, his thoughts and emotions gripped with panic as he looked over his shoulder to where Maria had Emily, so near to the fire that he had to force his voice into a whisper rather than a scream. "What do we do?"

Jasper simply shook his head sadly. Nothing. There was nothing to be done about this travesty.

His eyes flicked up to find Maria with Emily, walking with her. The fire burning nearby set off a torrent of alarms in his head. His spine stiffened with anxiety as he pulled himself back up to his feet. It seemed almost impossible to do so, to remove himself from the ground. But he had been out of line. He deserved it.

Daniel's voice grew more hysterical as he watched Emily struggle and try to free herself from Maria's grasp. His hands flew up to tear at his hair in his madness. "Jasper, please! Tell me what to do!"

Without another word he began to gather up writhing body parts and toss them into the nearest fire while his eyes remained on the child with Maria.

Daniel stood for a moment in shock, realizing that there was to be no help for him in this. He began gathering up the scattered body parts, his mind racing as he tried to formulate a plan, any way at all in order to save Emily, to save the girl he loved so desperately that the place where his heart had once beat was now nothing but a fiery ball of anguish.

Maria held tight onto Emily as she moved about the clearing, gathering body parts and tossing them with cold indifference into the flames. The fires began to burn purple with the charred carcasses and soon the field was free of macabre debris.

"Daniel," Maria called, her voice ice in her dead throat. "Come here."

Jasper tossed a load of body parts into the fire, his insides burning just as badly as the writhing arms and legs that he had thrown into the flames. Though he was outwardly numb to the situation, the knowledge that Emily would die flared away in the back of his mind. When Maria summoned the boy forth, Jasper felt the lump in his throat tighten and constrict. His eyes simply rested on him, confusion furrowing his brow as a flicker of determination and deception blurred around the edges of the emotional atmosphere.

"Daniel?" Disapproval colored his tone as he moved to usher the child forward. He clasped a hand on his shoulder and leaned in, bringing his lips close to the boy's ear. "Don't try anything you might regret."

Despite the warning, he sympathized and patted his back, dropping behind him to point him forward.

Emily twisted in Maria's grip, trying in vain to free herself. Her eyes darted warily to the fire before they found Jasper's face, her memory of his promises and the kindness he has shown her flitting through all their minds with a tenor of confusion. He had promised to keep her safe and this didn't feel safe at all. What was going to happen now? And why did Daniel look so scared?

All the promises that Jasper had made to her passed through his mind. Each one was an unbearable whiplash of guilt. Her wide scarlet eyes held his own in an unwavering stare of confusion and fear. Why wasn't he acting on his promises? Because Maria held the strings and he'd known all along that he couldn't protect her from this end, only from the battle. False thoughts of hope mislead him to think that she would be safe, that Maria would leave the scene soon after and that he would be able to spare her the agony of death and secretly send her away. He was wrong.

His face creased with pain, his eyes glistening over with tears that would never shed to realize that his promises had all been a lie to keep her quiet, a manipulation. His eyes ripped away from her sweet face. He was unable to look upon her anymore and instead he trained his gaze on the ground before him, the flickering images becoming too much to bear but his mind too weak to shut them out.

Daniel's feet almost faltered beneath him as he walked to where Maria stood. The whole entire world seemed to have narrowed to him and Emily and the overwhelming fear that had gripped him in its icy cold hands. His mind had been racing, searching for any way for him to save Emily and in the end he had come up empty. There was nothing to be done but to beg.

"Please..." His voice was a broken whisper, his eyes never leaving Emily's face. "I'll do anything."

Maria surveyed him coldly. "I find myself disappointed in you, Daniel. And my disappointment can be a dangerous thing."

"Maria," the boy pleaded. "I'm sorry. I would never—"

"You told Jasper that you were on to him and to me. I must congratulate your astuteness because, my dear, you were right about our plan. And yet, knowing this, you still risked my victory, giving away the position of my soldiers prematurely. Because of your rash and foolish actions six of my newborns died needlessly despite their superior training and all the hard work that Jasper here had put into them. And you risked it all for this child."

Daniel took a step forward, stretching his hand out toward Emily. She reached hers out toward him, their fingers almost touching.

"Don't..."

Maria lifted Emily from the ground, her little feet dangling and kicking uselessly. A series of images flashed through all their minds. The child's mother, her sisters playing, her father walking down the road in his uniform off to war, a little gray kitten chewing on the hem of her dress, and then Daniel, Daniel, Daniel...

Maria studied the child's face for a moment, her own expression tinged with mild regret. "Such a pity that my newborns died in vain so that you could save what was never in your power to keep."

Without warning her other hand flashed up and tore Emily's head from her shoulders before she sent it sailing into the flames and let the girl's body drop carelessly at her feet. The images were gone, fading like mist into nothing.

Jasper's dead heart ripped in two. The strength it took for him to remain stoic and unmoving was evident in the clenching of his fists, the way the knuckles stretched white over the bone, the prominence of his sealed veins standing out against his marble skin. His expression was frozen in shock and horror when the images of himself and her, of her family, her kitten, ceased and his mind was thrust into a void of blackness that he felt himself willingly curling into. With her death all that had remained human in him died. With her death his reason for clinging to that part of him so desperately faded, his drive to remain the man he once had been despite his nature withered up and blew away like ash. Lucy was right. It was a task that he had failed at miserably and paid greatly for.

The scream that tore from Daniel's throat was like that of a wounded animal. He lunged at Maria in a rage, his hands curved into claws, intent on ripping and tearing at her until there was nothing left.

It was Daniel's sudden movements that pulled him out of the void. The sudden sensation of rage from the boy filled the air and the desperate need to protect his mate, no matter how involuntary it was, fueled a rage within himself that propelled him forward, his hands outstretched and quickly snaring Daniel.

"No!" he growled, snapping the boys head back roughly.

Daniel fought against Jasper until the sobs shaking his boyish frame finally overcame him and he simply hung limp and defeated in Jasper's arms. All the fight was gone from him as his eyes fell on the headless body at his feet. There was nothing left but all consuming grief and despair.

Jasper held onto him until he stopped struggling. The moment the fight left him, he could feel it. Grief took its place. It lashed against his skin like one thousand tiny knives. When he released the boy, Jasper stumbled backward wanting to shake the feelings loose. But they were there, inescapable and strong, too strong.

"I believe you have one more corpse to dispose of, Daniel," Maria stated simply. "Do it and return to the barn with Jasper. Jasper, once you see the boy safely back, bring Nettie and Lucy to the house. We have much to discuss."

Jasper swallowed in disgust, his eyes never leaving the girl's body. Feelings were a burden; they tethered you to things that had no meaning anymore. They created nothing but pain and anguish, bound like a soul bound to a body on earth then released to feel no more.

Looking at all that was left of Emily, he couldn't bring himself to feel the grief that he had only moments earlier when Maria had tossed her severed head into the fire. Now it was all final. It was all over and life would move on as if it had never happened at all.

He was numb. A hollow shell just simply existing, never moving forward or aging. Maria's words buzzed in his ears but he couldn't respond. He just nodded solemnly without even bothering to afford her a glance.

Satisfied, Maria turned on her heel and in the next instant she was gone, off into the trees and away from the devastation she had left in her wake.

Emily's name broke forth from Daniel's lips in a horrific scream as his legs gave out from under him and he fell to his knees in the dirt. He crawled toward her broken body, reaching one tentative hand out towards her before he collapsed, pressing his forehead to her lifeless fingers and clawing at the earth with his hands.

Another wave of grief hit him, but his body was indifferent to it. Like the air he breathed, it was simply turned back out and away. When he finally willed himself to move his steps were mechanical, his legs wobbly and unsteady, as if navigating uneven ground in a fragile, human body. One hand rested upon the boy's shoulder, but his eyes went past Daniel to the girl.

"I'll take care of it..."

Daniel cried Emily's name again and again as though he had forgotten how to speak anything but that, his mind reeling. He took up her little hand in his and pressed it to his dirty cheek, his body convulsing as he tried to force out tears that would never come, the grief forever locked inside his body and unable to be purged.

Jasper moved past the boy and scooped the child's body up in his arms. Her dead weight was a sickening reminder of the empty promises he'd failed to keep. But where guilt would have nearly ripped him apart before, he felt nothing except a hollow ache that faded as quickly as it had come. The black hole of a heart in his chest swallowed the emotion before he could even succumb to it.

Daniel reached up and clutched the hem of Emily's dress where it spilled over Jasper's arm before his terrible keening grew in volume and he crumpled back onto the ground, averting his eyes. He couldn't stand to watch her burn.

Jasper was eager to be rid of the child's slight weight in his arms, eager to be free of any reminders that she had, in fact, existed. He cast a look to Daniel, his eyes dead and empty, before chucking her into the fire.

The smell of the resulting smoke caused Daniel to choke and retch and he rolled to his side and curled into himself, wrapping his arms around his stomach and rocking himself in a disjointed rhythm. Emily's large eyes, her bright smile as sunny as her yellow hair, the fragile, graceful way she moved, it was all gone. Gone, gone, gone, burning and turning into ash not feet from him. The finality of it caused another wail to rip from his body.

"Kill me, Jasper… Just kill me. I can't—I can't bear it…"

Jasper linked his hands behind his back as the tendrils of deeply hued purple smoke worked their way up into the sky. The deeply pitched depths of his eyes watched as the flames consumed the child's body, quickly dispatching her dress, her arms, withering her away until she became brittle and fluttered away into ash, into nothing.

There was no feeling in him anymore. None for the little girl whom he'd grown attached to, possibly even loved like a daughter or for the perishing of her body before his eyes or for the wailing behind him coming from a bereaved mate who would rather die than live through hell. He was hollow.

Shut off to everything that he had felt before. It was as if emotion couldn't touch him anymore. It couldn't manipulate him, make him weak or helpless and so it was with barely a passing glance that he turned and glided past Daniel, sending out a wave of his influence to him.

Daniel felt himself starting to grow numb, the unwelcome sensation seeping in through his skin and producing a fog in his brain. If he continued to lay there he would become immobile, docile, obedient. Exactly what Maria would want from him. Exactly what she demanded from them all, even Jasper. He had his orders, finish up here and bring him back like a piece of property, a thing. Just like she had viewed Emily, a pawn for her war games.

Before he lost control of himself, of his feelings, of his fate, Daniel sprung to his feet and hurled himself toward the flames where the ash that was Emily drifted up and floated in the air. He wanted to become ash as well, free on the breeze and mingling with her until there was no end to where she ended and he began.

Jasper was there, grabbing Daniel just before his skin touched the flames and yanking him backward into his embrace. "You can't do this! Think of Lucy!" he hissed, tightening his grip around the boy until his struggle became nothing more than pathetic useless attempts. "She would be destroyed!"

Daniel's head rolled back to lay against Jasper's shoulder as he closed his eyes against the flickering light of the fire, weak from grief and the renewed sobs that shook him so violently he thought his bones would crack. Lucy, his mother. He tried to focus on her face, to find some comfort in her loving smile but all he could see was Lucy sitting with Emily in the barn, their blonde hair spilling around them like golden halos.

"She knew, didn't she?" Daniel choked out. "She knew Emily was going to die."

It was with a stab of guilt that Jasper received his question and he was silent for several minutes. "Yes." A single word. One single word that said volumes. Sadness touched the softness in his tone, speaking with the guilt that had managed to elude him thus far.

"And you knew." Daniel gasped between the words, the reality of them burning him more thoroughly that the fire raging in front of him could have done. "You knew and you stood here and yet you did nothing to save her."

"There was nothing I could have done." Jasper clenched his jaw, the muscle quivering involuntarily from impotent anger building up inside of him. The boy's questions were becoming too much to handle. Growing impatient, he released more of his influence to fog over the boy's mind and lull him into sedation.

"You…didn't even…try…"

Daniel's head lolled to the side and his eyes became blank, staring into nothing as he hung in Jasper's arms. Were he human he would have been asleep but as it was he simply drifted into a state of numbed indifference. But even there, in that blissful place where grief and anger could not touch him, he saw Emily's face in an endless torture of images. His flawless vampire mind recalled every moment he had spent in her presence, just as it would always recall her death with perfect clarity.

Without another word, Jasper hefted him into his arms and spirited him off across the clearing. Once he hit the woods, the plumes of smoke disappeared leaving only the acrid scent in their wake. His nose burned of it as it had for the last year of his vampire life. The revolting smell of death clung to every part of him, his skin, his clothes.

It wasn't long before the sounds of restless newborns filtered into his ears. The barn was close. And as soon as he broke out of the trees, he saw it standing alone in the field with the seemingly abandoned farm house nearby.

Lucy catching Daniel's scent mingled with Jasper's burst through the barn doors and quickly closed the distance between them. She had been frantic with worry however seeing Daniel in one piece only gave her a short lived sense of peace. He was limp and unmoving in Jasper's arms and her panic flared again at seeing him look so broken and helpless.

"Oh, my Daniel! My precious Daniel!" Her hands fluttered nervously about the boy's face before she reached out and gathered him out of Jasper's hold and shifted him against her chest, a tearless sob breaking from between her clenched teeth. "What's wrong with him? Did you do this?"

Emily's face flashed behind Jasper's eyelids as well, her smile as bright and shining as always. Another stab of guilt wrenched him at the realization that she was just that now. A memory. She would always be nothing more than a memory, haunting him for eternity, her eyes wide with a child's innocence, her golden blonde locks cascading around her shoulders. But the image of her smiling face morphed into something only nightmares could create. Her golden hair caught fire. Her face once full of happiness shifted to terror, her mouth agape while her skin turned to ash right before his eyes... She was disintegrating, fluttering and floating away in the breeze as if she had never existed at all.

Jasper's mind snapped back into reality to find Lucy cradling Daniel in her arms. "I did it."

His voice was dead pan, hollow, as he simply walked past them, barely even acknowledging her presence.

Lucy didn't have to ask why Jasper had made Daniel this way. She knew without a doubt that Emily was dead. As disturbing as it was to look upon Daniel in his catatonic state she couldn't bear his grief and she dreaded when it would be necessary that she do so.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice breaking on her words. "Thank you for bringing him back to me."

Emily's sweet little voice whispered in his ear. _You'll__protect__me__won't__you?__You__won't__let__them__hurt__me__will__you?_ It echoed everywhere, bouncing off of the walls of his mind like a ricochet. He couldn't escape it and he couldn't get rid of it. _Will__you?__Will__you?__Jasper,__Jasper,__Jasper.__Please__don't__let__them__hurt__me._

He grabbed the sides of his head like a madman. "Shut up!" he growled doubled over from the pain her voice carried.

Lucy jumped at Jasper's outburst and Daniel stirred in her arms, his lips forming incoherent words all except for one. Emily. She saw the pain flicker across Jasper's face at the child's name. She had expected him to be inconsolable. He had made no secret of his affection for the girl. But where she thought she would see sadness, maybe even grief, there was a stark and frightening emptiness.

"Jasper?"

It wasn't until Lucy's voice drifted through that he remembered she was there. "We need to get back." His words broke off into a choked and strangled noise. "Maria's expecting us," he said dumbly as he straightened up and trudged onward.

She stared after him for a moment, concern shining from her crimson eyes as she carried Daniel into the barn. "She wants to see me? Why?"

"We have things we need to discuss." His voice dropped to a hollow mumble of emptiness. It was as if he were reciting a brainwashed speech he'd repeated several times over and had grown bored of it. Everything else was lost to him as they walked, his eyes locked straight ahead unwavering.

"But Daniel! I can't leave him here like this." She sat him down on the ground and cast a nervous glance to the newborns lurking in the shadows. "He's too vulnerable in this condition."

Jasper frowned in irritation, the first real emotion to make its way onto his face since the incident. Maria would be expecting them soon and she certainly knew that he was back. If they didn't hurry she was liable to wreak havoc.

"Fine," he muttered, focusing on the boy just long enough to send a wave of alertness his way before he started toward the door. "Come now, Maria is waiting."

Daniel gasped in a breath like a man who had been held underwater and had just broken the surface, his hands grasping Lucy's arms in sheer desperation.

"She's dead, Lucy! She's dead! Why? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you stop them?"

Lucy's face crumpled in pain and she pulled the boy to her, cradling his head against her chest and kissing his hair. "It's over now, Daniel. It's over. I'm so sorry. I only wanted to protect you but I couldn't! I wanted to so badly but I couldn't…"

Daniel's sobbing began anew and Lucy pulled back to hold him at arm's length, her eyes serious and her voice hushed.

"You mustn't do that now. There will be plenty of time for tears later. I must go now and you must be strong until I come back. Weakness will not be tolerated by the others and if anything should happen…"

Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip, reaching up to smooth a lock of hair from his face before she whirled on the newborns.

"If I return to find that any of you have even gone near the boy I swear that I will burn you slowly until you are begging me for death! He has fought bravely today, more so than any of you, and he will be left alone!"

Jasper stood by like a silent statue, his hands folded in front of him as he waited, his expression carved from stone while he waited for Lucy to finish up and be done with it. Emily's death had proven to him that these feelings that Lucy possessed, feelings that he had once shared, had no bearing in their world. Feelings only created things that caused pain. But they would never hurt him again. He wouldn't allow himself to be bothered with such petty attachments.

With one last look to Daniel, Lucy swept out of the barn. Without even a passing glance to the boy, he followed her out. Nettie was waiting, leaning against the outside wall with a smirk, her mood carrying a certain undertone of deception. It was this current that caught his attention and caused him to freeze, turning toward her with a questioning look.

"I find it so endearing how you care for the boy, Lucy. Especially when to Maria, he's nothing more than your leash, a pawn to keep you obedient and loyal to her every whim. Even when those whims include killing the child's first love and reducing him to a grieving mess."

With a vicious snarl Lucy had Nettie pinned, her teeth snapping less than an inch from her face.

"We all do what we're told her, Nettie. Don't think you are any different. You're the same as me only you're too stupid to know your place!"

Feeling the rage rising, Jasper interceded with a dose of his influence to calm them both. "Maria waits," he warned gravely, stepping forward with his hands linked behind his back. "Shall we?"

Lucy's anger had subsided, a gentle wave of calm easing it out of her, relaxing her muscles. But it was still with a feral hiss that she released Nettie and walked with purpose towards the house. Nettie's eyes fixed on Jasper, raking over his body from head to toe with insulting thoroughness before she followed suit.

Ample waves of lust hit him straight from Nettie. Jasper watched her as she watched him but unlike the first time she had eyeballed him with such intentions he didn't flinch away. Instead, he simply floated past her, hands still linked behind his back as he mounted the steps to the porch and entered the house.

He waited at the bottom of the staircase for the other two, before turning and gliding upstairs, his eyes lifted to the ceiling as he listened for the sound of Maria's breathing. Her scent was everywhere so following it would prove useless.

Lucy fell into step behind him, her anger at Nettie replaced by nervousness. She had only been inside the house a handful of times since they had taken refuge there and none of those had been under pleasant circumstances. A sense of foreboding plagued her as they reached the upstairs hallway, Nettie in tow.

Maria was perched on a chair in front of a little vanity table, contemplating her eternal beauty in the tarnished mirror, her heavy hair spilling over her left shoulder. She ran her fingers through it in a languid motion, her eyes narrowing at the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

From the mixture of scents that reached her she knew that Jasper had brought Lucy and Nettie to her just as she had ordered him. A smile crept onto her beautifully cruel face as she watched the door in the mirror, waiting for them to appear.

Jasper opened the bedroom door, standing aside to allow Nettie and Lucy access before bringing up the rear and closing the door behind him. He indicated Maria with a slight nod, crossing the room to join her at her side.

Maria rose from her chair and placed a hand on Jasper's chest in a possessive fashion, gracing Nettie with a slight smile that was truthfully anything but casual despite how it appeared. Jasper's lips curled into a favoring smile, his eyes ticking across the hand she had placed on him.

"Nettie, Lucy, I am so glad to see you. I have been anxiously awaiting your arrival so that I could deliver my happy news."

Lucy held her breath. What Maria might regard as being happy news didn't always bode well for anyone but her. She shifted her weight warily, her vampire mind silently calculating how many steps she was from the door should it become necessary for her to run.

Maria chuckled at Lucy's apparent discomfort and walked towards the two women, letting her fingertips trail down Jasper's abdomen until the brushed the waist of his pants and fell away. Jasper inhaled a sharp breath and swallowed back a swell of lust flowing into him. His bottom lip quivered in want, watching with avid attention as her hand drifted away from him.

"With tonight's victory I find that our lands have become too large to manage from one central location and so I have decided to assign each of you a territory which you will oversee."

Nettie's eyes sparked with interest, the corners of her lips twitching in a barely repressed smile.

"Lucy, you will take the northern part and Nettie, you will take the south. I will expect regular reports back to me. Any threats will be managed as Jasper sees fit. You will both leave tonight. Jasper will decide which newborns will go with you to help you run patrols."

Jasper said nothing, simply nodding once in agreement. Though he was included in the conversation he remained apart from it, picking through the other two female's emotions. Lucy projected fear, rightfully so, and concern. From Nettie he gathered a heavy layer of lust, which was undoubtedly directed toward him, and still that faint undercurrent of deception.

His eyes drifted away from her toward the window, momentarily distracted by Daniel's grief. It lacerated his skin like the sting of a whip. White hot spasms of it passed through him, dredging up the images that he had pushed back into darkest chasms of his mind. Emily's little body burning and turning into ash. Jasper felt another shudder pass through him, his eyes darkening ever so slightly from the rage filling him from within.

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief and backed towards the door. "I'll collect Daniel and we'll leave immediately."

"Daniel isn't going with you. He will stay here with me."

Lucy's mouth dropped open, her shock plain on her face. "What?"

Jasper swallowed back a spasm of rage from Lucy, his eyes turning in her direction as he drank the black emotion in. She was rightly angered but very much in control.

"I said he is to stay here with me. I fear his presence in his current condition would make him more of a distraction to you than I can afford. I need you focused on the mission at hand. Do you disagree?"

Maria tilted her head to the side, her eyes cold and implying that to disagree would be met with unequivocal violence.

Lucy dropped her head, defeated and subservient, her emotions a swirl of grief, sadness, and despair. "No. Whatever you think is best Maria, as always."

More visions of the little blonde child swarmed Jasper's mind like a mass of angry bees. Emily smiling, Emily burning, the night he and Maria slaughtered her family and turned her. Images flickered through his mind so quickly they almost blurred together. Some were his, some planted by the child, but each one seared against his skin like the fire she had burned in and sent him reeling back into the darkness.

"Good. Nettie I take it you find my decision to your liking?"

Nettie's smile was genuine but with some darker emotion dwelling just below the surface of her expression. "Of course."

"Jasper, which newborns can we spare here?" she asked, strolling back to him, her eyes darkened with desire.

Jasper's chest heaved with barely contained rage, anger bordering on madness, and eyes as black as obsidian stones. "Several. She can take David, Stephen and Collin." His eyes flashed from Maria to Lucy and then to Nettie. "Nettie can take Quinn, Thomas and Carl."

Nettie lips curved in the smile she had been withholding until that moment. "Then it's decided. Come, Lucy. Let's be good little girls and do as we're told."

With one final seductive glance Jasper's direction she slipped out into the hallway. In the next instant, the sound of the door downstairs heralded her departure.

Lucy remained frozen for a moment, her eyes still on the floor. She longed to argue, to beg for Daniel to go with her. She didn't trust him here alone but she knew she didn't have a choice. Maria's mind was made up and questioning her further would only lead to violence, perhaps even death. Her eyes raised, seeking out Jasper's face and silently pleading with him to keep Daniel safe even though their original deal, Daniel's safety for Emily's, was no longer possible.

Without a word she shuffled to the doorway and quietly left, her shoulders slumped and her posture belying her broken spirit.

Jasper's hands flashed out and grabbed Maria's arms, his chest heaving with impotent rage as he roughly yanked her to him, their faces just inches apart. He peeled back his lips to reveal his pearly white teeth, letting a growl rip through his throat. With a sound as loud as a thunder clap, he flung her backward onto the bed and leapt on top of her, his hands ripping her dress into shreds.

Maria's eyes were large in her pale face, almost afraid at the anger rolling off of him in relentless waves. In that moment he was not someone she could manipulate and control but a vicious and deadly vampire who would accept nothing but her total submission. His name escaped her lips as her dress was stripped away, half in desire, half in a startled plea.

A flare of anger passed through and his hands tightened around her arms, until the marble of her skin cracked. He stared down at her, burning embers in the black depths of his eyes.

Maria couldn't bite her lip quick enough to contain her howl of pain as the fissures ran up her arms, rendering them momentarily immobile. The healing had already begun but it was to avoid further damage that she remained still and met his eyes, her own speaking to her fear.

All the anger, the rage, building inside of him spilled out into the atmosphere as he cut loose another terrifying growl and yanked her up, only to slam her back against the headboard so hard teeth rattled. He roughly thrust his hips into hers to pin her in place, letting go of her arms to work his belt loose.

Despite her real and rightful terror, he was beautiful in his fierceness. She tried to hold back her desire for him, afraid that it would spur him on further, send him over the edge. But it was no use. She couldn't deny that she wanted him and her want and longing filled the space between them to mix with his rage. Yes, she could feel everything he was feeling. The cold and painful emotions lashed at her skin, punishing her for the things she had made him do until her breath came in short, hard pants.

Her potent desire culminated with his rage to drive him over the brink into madness. Unbuttoning his pants he thrust his hips up against hers, impaling himself into her in the same moment that a curse and her name left his lips. His hands grasped the soft flesh of her arms and he gave another rough thrust of his hips, slamming her back against the rough wood.

Maria's head fell back, her throat bared to him and her entire body at his mercy as he pounded into her again and again, her pleasure mixed with delicious pain.

His lips closed upon her neck, his teeth raking her skin in unspoken threat. "I hate you," he growled. "Damn it, I hate you!" He spat the words out in a tumbling rush of anger.

She could feel all his emotions, all the grief and angst and sadness washing over her and she realized what he was trying to do. He was attempting to purge them from himself, to lose himself in her, searching desperately for a release. Tearing one of her arms away from his stone grip she reached up and slapped him across the face, her fingers curling to fist in his hair.

"That may be," she gasped as she lifted a leg to hook it around his waist. "But I know what it is you're seeking. Take it from me, Jasper. I won't fight you."

Jasper yowled like a wild animal, peeling back his lips to expose his teeth as he yanked her upward with all his strength and slammed her onto the bed, descending on top of her.

"You bitch!" the words hissed from his clenched teeth. She had taken his life, his freedom, and finally the one thing that had brought a scarce amount of joy into his life, stripping it all away from him as she played at being God. He hated her, hated her for what she'd done to him, for the thing he had become, for making him watch her destroy Emily.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" he spat repeatedly, his hips slamming against hers. Each wave of anger brought forth a faster, harder thrust as if he couldn't expel the emotion out of himself fast enough, as if he couldn't pull enough of Maria's poisonous pleasure inside of him. "You did this to me! You did this to me!"

Maria's eyes, dark and frightening, stared into his face, her lips pressed together in a grim line as she took his abuse of her, verbally and physically. Let him rant and rave, let him use her body to slake his rage. In the end, he would be just like her. Hollow, empty. He needed her just as she needed him, both of them locked together in a sick, twisted game.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, urging him deeper, faster until she couldn't contain the moans that rose from her throat. Her head thrashed side from side as she clenched around him, exploding, shattering violently, her entire body shuddering with the power of it.

Jasper's chest heaved, fisting the sheets with his hands until his knuckles turned white in a desperate attempt to expel his anger, his pain and despair but there was no other outlet except Maria. He buried his face into her neck while his hips moved in a frenzy against her own, working harder and harder to end the suffering, the hate consuming him.

"You, filthy-"

His breath cut off into a hiss against the sensitive skin of her ear, just before his teeth drove into her neck. Blinding white light exploded behind his eyelids as everything released, flowing out of him and into her like a flood gate had been opened and everything had been cut loose.

The force of his influence was crippling, drowning her in a sea of emotions so powerful that a sob broke forth from her at the overwhelming pain of it.

"I love you," she whispered, gripping his hair, pulling it in her iron grip to tilt his head to the side. Her teeth scraped across his scarred and battered skin. "I love you, Jasper."

"I love—I-" The words left his lips in a groan of pleasure and ecstasy. All the anger and grief subsided, becoming no more than a faint memory as Maria's lust and desire overpowered his own feelings. "I love you…"

As the peace he felt replaced all the negative emotions he had forced onto her, Maria pulled him to her tightly, threw her head back and laughed.


End file.
